Event: Velo29 Everest Challenge World record Attempt
Date: 8th June 2025

Everesting is a brutally simple concept to cycle repeat climbs of one hill in a single activity, totaling at least 8,848m of elevation and join an elite group of riders accredited by Hells500 – holders of the Everesting Hall of Fame. The world record for the most riders to complete an Everest in one event was set in Norway with 54 riders.

The Velo29 world record story began in 2023, with 77 riders taking to the start line, however, only 45 riders completed Everest. In 2024 86 riders took to the line but around 18:00 it became apparent that the record would be at least 2 riders short! So close yet so far!

On June 8th 2025, I joined 106 riders to have a go at the record! I was in group 2 that set off at the top of the hill at 5:00. With a temperature of ‘feels like’ -1 and speeds of 75kmph it wasn’t the most relaxing way to start! The bottom arrived very quickly and we saw the turn point, a traffic cone that had to be negotiated in the middle of a very narrow road. Then on to the climb…

The climb chosen for the attempt was Peaslows, it is 1.3km long, starts at 10% gradient, rises to 15% in the middle with an average of 10.6% after it flattens towards the top. Each lap is 2.6km so a Full Everest = 174.2km. With an average speed over the day on the climb of 7kmph this was a tough grind and proved to be the hardest challenge that I have undertaken! Character building springs to mind!

67 repetitions later and with a time of 14:42:39 I made it and officially completed an Everest!

With only a few hours left to the cut off time of 17-hours I didn’t have to wait too long to find out that 59 riders completed Everest so we became the new world record holders!

Event: The Fox
Date 24th May 2025

Once upon a time, a darkness fell on the woodland and hills of the gentle Surrey countryside. Orcs were rising once again in the Mole Valley and the once welcoming Public Rights of Way were no longer safe for travellers.

A last stand was made by the commuters of Surrey, a call was made out “trail runners come to our rescue!”

On the 24th of May, hundreds of these “Trail Warriors” assembled in the fortress town of Godalming and set out on a 62 km charge across the countryside to bring order back to the land of the commuter. I, along with the legendary warriors of Damian and Jay, headed out to face battle with them.

The Fox Trail was on!

Front loaded with hills, the first 20km were hard and a detour away from the ice-cream shop in Shere left morale low, but halt, what is this, an elf like vision in Pink at Silent Pools!

“VICEROYS!” the call came to us, for it was Marit! The cheer spurred us on, up over Shere drop and into the village of West Clandon for a well needed aid station and pee stop.

We continued on into the lowlands, all the while aware of the darkness surrounding us. The roar of the A3 approached, and over the last remaining bridge, we dropped into Ripley.

Once again, the Viceroy Elves were there to help us in our fight, a glimpse of Lawrence waving from his car and then round the corner, 3 fair Viceroy Maidens took us under their wing and ran with us along the river Wey. Sheena, Marit and Jasmin were fair-footed, leaving no marks as they ran along with us. Kind words and elven treats were handed out, and on we went.

Passing KM 30, the gruelling terrain was taking its toll. Jay began to slow, he called to us to carry on, and thus the fellowship was broken.

Damian and I pressed on, the Viceroy Elves returned to us again at the KM 42 aid station before the final push over the legendary Hogs Back. This towering summit almost broke us, the incline was great, but with legs of steel hardened on the Wednesday evening trails, we made it to the top.

Down we flew to Godalming, Viceroy Elves once again greeted us from a local pub, cheering loudly with cider in hand, the pace quickened and up the final steps at KM62 we were going strong…but low…the trail was not 62km! An unknown detour had been made to avoid a troll hole close to Guildford and we still had 1km left to go. With snarls of anger, we pushed on cursing all those dark forces in the world.

At last the finish line came, and we had done it! The orcs had been vanquished, a free meal ticket was given out and the Viceroy Elves greeted us with beer!

But what happened to the warrior Jay…well, thankfully he turned up 20mins later, guided by Marit’s light feet after smashing down a load of gels and getting his running legs back.

Joining together, we all headed off to the local ale house named Weatherspoon’s and toasted each other’s efforts. Only £1.95 for a pint of Cider!!

Event: IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca
Date: 10th May 2025

The alarm was set for 6am in the morning. We (3 friends and I) woke up to bananas, chugging honey, maurten carb mix, and half a red bull.

We walked over to the start line a little behind schedule, which caused us to join a slower tranche of swimmers than we wanted. However, the swim warm up was awesome. Tunes were played on an elevated DJ booth. The crowd was getting hyped up; the boogie was on and the dance moves were tearing up the beach. Before we entered the water, the DJ announced the top 10 represented countries at the 70.3: Spain 3rd, Germany 2nd, and the United Kingdom 1st!! Definitely a lot of Brits…

I almost hyperventilated when starting the swim and found it hard to fall into a breathing rhythm. I would probably recommend saving the red bull for after the swim. The swim was a simple course, a straight swim out and a straight swim back. Not much to report on the violence front, which is good news. Pretty clear ocean water and only 18 degrees, which was great.

The transition was a pleasant lead into the awesome bike course which started with a nice flat 20km before hitting 15km of climbing. 20km was great to enter the climb with warmed up legs. Overall, the climb was not too bad, no crazy steep gradients, just a plug and chug uphill. As Jay (from VTC) pointed out to me a couple weeks ago – it’s not over until you reach the petrol station! A great piece of advice.

The descent post-climb was awesome. Great speed mixed in with a load of hairpin bends that keep you on your toes and make for exciting overtakes 🙂 After the descent, there is a 40km time trial section. Once starting this section, I figured many participants were drafting in groups without getting called out by marshals. So, with 30km to go, I joined a group of 5 which soon turned into a 20-men (and women) strong peloton, making the last 30km very speedy (averaging about 37kmh).

The run was probably the least exciting bit. A 3 lap course through Alcudia. The best section of the loop was by the beach, simply because it was more scenic and more fans supported by the beach. There were tons of aid stations, making it easy to cool down and fuel up with whatever you wanted. I do wish fans brought more music to push everyone along. I only saw one boombox during the run. I guess DJing in Mallorca isn’t a big scene. The last part worth mentioning is that I peed myself 3 times due to the high electrolytes and water intake during the bike section. This was the best part of the run besides finishing it. There aren’t many occasions when one is allowed to pee in public, and it’s worth taking the opportunity by the horns. Just remember to wash off the shoes post race. You don’t want to deal with what I had in my luggage when arriving back in the UK.

All in all, a great event! Free flow Mahou and San Miguel post race with a side of pasta and fruit 😉 Top notch.

Event: Barcelona Marathon
Date: 16th March 2025

First Race Abroad

Pre-Race
Picture me, a bundle of nerves and carb-loaded dreams, walking into Barcelona’s marathon expo like a kid in a candy store. The city was buzzing, the March air was crisp, I grabbed my bib and resisted buying all the overpriced running swag. I spent the evening meticulously laying out my kit like I was prepping for a moon landing and consuming a mountain of pasta. I visualized running the race, though my brain kept sneaking in images of me tripping over a rogue orange peel. But I was excited to run my first race abroad.

Race Start
Standing in my wave surrounded by thousands of runners, I felt a surge of adrenaline. The sunrise cast a golden glow over the city, and the energy was contagious—cheers, music, and the hum of anticipation. As the gun went off, I settled into my pace, weaving through the pack with focus. The wide, smooth streets and early landmarks fuelled my excitement. The vibes were immaculate, and I was ready to make this marathon my personal dance floor.

The Run
The Barcelona course was a dream—flat, scenic, and lined with enthusiastic crowds. For the first 30K, I was in the zone, hitting my target pace effortlessly. My legs felt springy, my breathing was steady, and I high-fived people along the route, feeding off their energy. The Mediterranean breeze and views kept me uplifted. Then, at 36K, the wall hit me like a rogue piñata. My legs turned to concrete, my brain screamed, “Why are we doing this?!” and I considered flopping onto the curb for a siesta. But I chugged my electrolytes, channelled my inner action hero, and broke the race into bite-sized chunks. The final kilometres were a battle, but the roar of the crowd and the thought of a PB kept me moving forward.

Finish Line
Crossing that finish line was like winning an Oscar, a Grammy, and a free buffet all at once. My watch screamed “PB!” and I threw my hands up like I had just invented running. The 36K struggle made it epic—I’d stared into the abyss and told it to get lost. A volunteer slung a medal around my neck, and I posed for photos like a B-list celebrity. The finish area was buzzing – fountains sparkling, runners crying happy tears, and me, basking in the glory of not dying. My legs were toast, but my soul was doing cartwheels as I waited for my friend to finish.

Post-Race Reflection
Running internationally for the first time was both humbling and inspiring but definitely deepened my love for running. Hitting the wall tested my resilience, but pushing through proved what I’m capable of and the PB was the cherry on top. Not sure when I will next be able to race aboard but 100% keen to do it again and hopefully with more Viceroys!

Event: First Stride Events Hampton Pool Standard Distance Triathlon
Date: 21^st April 2025

In the 9 ½ months since my first ever triathlon, this mid-life crisis journey has been great. Losing over 55kg in weight, improving my running from 9min/k to 6min/k and swimming from 3min/100m to 2:15/100m, it is great to see tangible proof of how far I have come. I know a sports car would have been cheaper but until you can record that drive in Strava…what’s the point?

Anyway… the race. What a wake up this was. Luckily I live not far so the 0515 registration time wasn’t too much trouble, but speaking to people lining up that morning, some had travelled in from Kent that morning. This marked my third triathlon of 2025, second with First Stride Events and first standard distance.

Wearing my new Viceroys hoodie allowed me to stay warm, and colourful, but compared to the March triathlon’s 0 degrees at Hampton Pool the 9 degrees that morning was basically summer. Plus I’m from the North so they were lucky I didn’t crack out the BBQ.

As I finished setting up my transition station the sun was rising so I got a good look at everyone’s bikes, and it was at that point I realised I need a new bike.

The race brief was informative and let us all know of the number of laps needed for standard distance. With the early start time, the build-up of traffic around Hampton Court wasn’t going to be an issue and being a local (as well as doing the previous triathlon in March) I knew the course well.

Being second to last on the pool leg was interesting as it gave me time to watch other people’s technique. I tend to do breaststroke on the swim as front crawl isn’t my strong suit. Completing the 888m in 21 minutes wasn’t too bad for me, then it was onto the first transition. T1 gives us 7 minutes to get changed, warm clothes on etc. ahead of the ride, as down south 9 degrees is classed as “cold”. As I put talc on my feet, it went everywhere including my riding glasses, so I had the lovely image of a winter wonderland for the remainder of the race. I headed out of transition, ran to the mount line and of course dropped my gel which luckily someone was nice enough to run up to me.

The ride is always my strong area and knowing the route meant I knew where to push and where to use the contours to my advantage. Everyone was very pleasant to each other, greeting with a nod, wave or verbally saying “good morning” when passing. Seeing the Viceroy members along the route was nice and being a new member, made me realise there are many people to get to know over the next part of my triathlon journey.

Getting back to transition, I was greeted by my lovely little family (I am not kidding, my wife barely scrapes 5’) with my two kids shouting “daddy!” in the small moment I was around before leaving them to get a bacon sandwich whilst I did my run. For once I didn’t struggle putting my running shoes on and, unlike my first triathlon attempt, I didn’t fall over into my bike like Bambi on ice. Which in my opinion made me feel like a winner already. Setting off on the run my legs didn’t feel too bad.

I didn’t understand how people on the route knew my name (although I now suspect wearing the pink hoodie at the start may have had something to do with it) but it was nice to hear random people cheer me on. The run route took me down to Hampton Court and on my first lap I ran past the turnaround cone and instead ran around the lamppost that had the sign on but hey-ho, got it right the second time round.

Coming into the finish line, there were my darling daughters cheering me on with my littlest running after me, desperate for a sweaty Daddy cuddle. Getting the medal from the canteen allowed me to sniff the sandwiches, watching people in envy before returning to the transition area to eat my “superfood” bar.

My target for the day was to not be last, which is something I always set for myself. Coming 17^th out of 26 was a nice addition to that goal.

It was a great start to standard distance for me, and to set the bar for my year ahead. It would be nice to get to know more VTC members so I can cheer them on too. I wish you all luck in your endeavours and challenges ahead.