Putting in the miles

This summer, Toby, Ollie and Tom are planning to push themselves to the limits for a cause that’s close to their hearts. The Ride100Run26 challenge will see the trio cycling 100 miles and then immediately running a marathon in aid of Crohn’s & Colitis UK. We caught up with them to find out more.  

What inspired your fundraising challenge?

Toby: My twin brother Harry was diagnosed with Crohn’s when he was nine. He had surgery in the early days to remove about a metre of his bowel, and it’s been under control for most of his life, but then a couple of months ago he relapsed and had to have further surgery. I felt a bit helpless when I heard about it, because there’s nothing really you can do to help. So I messaged Ollie and asked him how he’d feel about doing something big to raise money.

Ollie: Harry never speaks about his condition with his friends. There’d be times where we’d all go to the pub and he wouldn’t come because he wouldn’t be able to drink and was in pain. He would never say that Crohn’s was the reason; he just wouldn’t come. For me, it’s about trying to get rid of that stigma.

Tom: My dad was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 52. I thought it was really important to start raising awareness because I saw what it was like to be diagnosed later on in life. It was upsetting for me and my family when we didn’t know what his condition was. My girlfriend’s mother also has Crohn’s; she was diagnosed much earlier in her life.

How’s the training going?

Tom: We’re trying to put in as much training in as we can at the moment. We sat down together before Christmas and basically said that we need to try and get as fit as possible, to go through one or two intense months of training before the event. I’m trying to do at least three runs a week and then cycle maybe four or five times a week.

Ollie: We’re having to do a lot of preparation. A few weeks ago, Tom and Toby did a shorter bike ride and a run, and then Tom and I did the same. I think that’s the point we realised it was going to take a lot more training than we previously realised. 

Have you done anything like this before?

Ollie: I did a Tough Mudder a couple of summers ago for the charity Mind, but it was a doddle compared to this. I’ve done a half-marathon, but I don’t think it touches the sides compared to what we’re doing now!

Toby: For all of us, this is quite a big jump. The farthest each of us has ran is a half-marathon, which is 21k. This time, we’re going to be cycling 116k and running 46k, which is obviously a huge jump.

Are there benefits to training as a group?

Toby: We’ve all been going running by ourselves, but doing 15k by myself is completely different to going out when I’ve got one of the boys with me. On the day, having us all together is definitely going to help.

Ollie: We’re quite competitive lads as well. When the boys are doing stuff on their own and you see their times and speeds on Strava, it naturally pushes you along for next time. It’s good to have the boys there as support and a morale boost, but also for the competitive element.  

Do you have any plans for future fundraising?

Tom: Toby’s got a charity place for Crohn’s & Colitis UK in the London Marathon, so it definitely doesn’t stop here. We want to keep going.

Ollie: The fundraiser we’re doing is quite a big one to start with, but there’s lots of potential for doing more and testing ourselves, which will in turn raise more money and awareness.