Ted (2&3 South, 1986-90) describes his 7x7x7:
This January, I completed seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. I often have to say all that twice as people don’t quite believe it the first time. It was pretty nuts, but I’ve been doing this kind of thing for a while – I’ve done the Marathon de Sables, the Tour de France, and the North Pole Marathon.
This latest challenge was the toughest yet. We started in Antarctica, 10 of us, completing a marathon-length circuit and then flying by Russian cargo plan to Punta Arenas in Chile, and on to Miami for a beach marathon. Next it was Madrid – a marathon around the parks (those first three marathons were done in 36 hours), and then a hop with Ryanair to Marrakech to run through the night in the rain. That one was especially grim. Then Dubai, and finally, a marathon in Sydney, finishing on the Harbour Bridge as the sun rose over the Opera House. Each marathon took me around five to six hours, and there was no recovery time, none at all – we’d sleep on the plane. We’d finish one, head straight to the airport, through security, and then collapse on the plane. Like I said, pretty nuts.
Of course it’s tough. You know it’s going to hurt – and it really, really does – so there’s no point moaning about it. I do it to raise funds for Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (my wife was diagnosed with MS in 2009, and I’ve raised over £165k to date). But I also do it for the banter – you get surprisingly good banter when you’re knackered and in pain.
You need to have an extremely positive mental attitude to get through it. I’m not the most athletic chap in the world, but I do it to complete it – it’s me versus me. It’s all about pushing myself. And showing off a bit, of course. I’m a house master at Hurtwood House, my family’s business, and I think my boys are quite proud. I was back at work on Monday morning.
Next up is rowing from Senegal to Brazil next April – we’re aiming for around 25 days. We want to beat the world record, raise lots of money, have some banter. And show off a bit, of course.