The Wheels are in Motion... by Helen Holmes

As many of you may know, in two weeks time I – along with 9 friends – will be spending a day cycling, running and rowing the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats, a distance of over 60 miles each. As many of you may also know, I am not the most sporty of individuals. In fact, I have even been called an indolent sloth and a languid idler (thanks Dad). So what happened when I began training for this big event? Read on to find out more...

It was the period between Christmas and New Year, where you are into triple-figure mince pie consumption and have a lurking sense of unease that you should probably be doing something other than eating and playing Articulate, that it hit me. You probably can’t just turn up and cycle 60 miles with no preparation. You definitely can’t if, like me, you count banana bread as one of your five a day and think a cross-trainer is a type of shoe. So I gritted my teeth, “borrowed” my sister’s gym pass, and set off for the bright lights of Sutton.

Is there anything more intimidating than walking into the main gym room to be confronted by banks of machines with sweating people draped over them, clearly clocking up their twentieth mile of the day and looking at you, the newbie, in utter disdain. I knew rationally that nobody was paying me any attention, yet inside I felt sure that everyone in that room knew that, just two days ago, I’d eaten a Cadbury Snowball for breakfast out of an egg-cup, using chocolate fingers as the soldiers. But, heroically, I strode past them all and settled myself on an exercise bike. I was here for the long haul.

For the first five minutes or so, I was pleasantly surprised. Why was I worried? I was a natural! Legs pumping like pistons, I was unstoppable. Until, after seven minutes, I stopped. It turns out cycling is either really boring or really painful, or sometimes, just for a bit of variety, both. And it really makes your bum hurt (even when, like me, you have been blessed with plenty of natural padding). I needed a break.

However, having doused myself at the water fountain, and with the dulcet tones of Little Mix to spur me on, I re-entered the fray, and 50 minutes later emerged victorious, with a whole nine miles to my name. OK, it wasn’t quite 60. But I was on my way.

On Wednesday 25th of January, we will be cycling, running, walking and rowing a total of 603 miles to raise money for Young Minds. Young Minds is a charity committed to supporting children and young people across the UK in improving their emotional well-being and mental health. All donations welcome! Or click to find out more about YoungMinds.