BPL Staff Target Events: Ben Hallam Part 2

During 2013, each of the BPL team is going to set themselves some target events that will push us outside of their comfort zones. Each of the staff have different levels of fitness and experience and, just like you, they have to work their training around work and family commitments. This blog series will track their progress and demonstrate how the Bespoke Performance Lab can benefit the recreational athlete.

Funny how one phone call can change the path of your life. Three weeks ago I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't insane having entered my first half ironman, then the phone rings at work and on the other end was Katie Ford. Katie is a truly inspiring young woman who has lived with epilepsy all her life but has achieved feats that most would only dream of. She completed the 2008 Race Across America (RAAM) in a 4 lady team, carried the Olympic torch to name but a few. Her future targets are much bigger though: she is aiming to break the woman's 24 hour track record and then become the first British woman to complete the RAAM solo. Her goal is to raise awareness for epilepsy and money for Epilepsy Action.

But to qualify for RAAM solo, Katie needs to complete one of the team competitions and has set her sights on breaking one of the more prestigious records: the 4 person mixed category record of 6 days 4 hours 18 minutes. The team relay race across the country from west to east for 3000 miles including over 170,000 vertical feet (51816m) of climbing which basically means averaging over 20 mph..... Average!!!! Including climbing the Rockies and Appalachians. Now this sounds like a proper challenge. 

Katie has amassed some serious fire power around her though. First up is Sean Conway who was on pace to break the record for circumnavigating the globe before getting run over by a truck. Still, after a brief stay in hospital (and still injured) he got back on his bike and finished the 160000 mile trip. RAAM is going to be like popping down the shops for this bloke!!!!!

Next up is Andrew Brown. Andrew may not have a long background in cycling but boy does he have an engine. Last year he not only beat, but smashed the solo rowing record across the Atlantic completing the event in 40 days 9 hours and 44 minutes. As I have previously written, rowing is great cross training for cycling so I'm sure he'll fly across the States.

So next to these three, I look like a "sane" member of society!!!! Katie has asked me to be the 4th member and views me as the "speed guy". The current thinking is that we will be to do 3 hour solo stints through the night and then smash through the day doing 15 minutes on and 45 minutes off. While 6 days constant riding sounds daunting, I know that 10km efforts are right down my street. But I've got some training to do if I'm going to have the endurance to make it through the whole event. But that's what I'm so excited about, I've finally got some challenges that scare me enough to force me to do some serious training.

So this exciting journey starts now. Not only on the training front but also on the sponsorship front. We're currently looking for sponsors to help back this project so if you know anyone that might be interested in being a part this great story and supporting a worthy cause, please drop us a line. We're also collecting donations for Epilepsy Action, so anything you can give would be most appreciated (Donations).

To follow the progress of the team and it's members, check out the following links:

Team Epilepsy Forward:
Facebook
Twitter

Katie Ford:
Blog
Twitter

Sean Conway:
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Andrew Brown:
Twitter

I've already hit the BPL Altitude Machine this week and I'll keep you up to date with how my training come along.