Back in the summer of 2015 I decided to set out on an adventure. I left Bournemouth Pier on 4th July on a 28 day journey – a journey in which I aimed to run, swim, cycle and kayak my way round 4410km (2740 miles) of the English, Scottish and Welsh mainland coastline. In short I was aiming to attempt a quadrathlon a day for 28 days whilst circumnavigating Great Britain.
Many thought I was Bonkers – “it can never be done” they cried. But I wanted to try. I wanted to discover my personal limits. I wanted to raise money for an incredible charity – The Pepper Foundation who fund Children’s Hospice at Home nursing care in Bucks and Herts.
It was an unbelievable, epic, mind blowing journey in which I faced the most incredible highs and the most excruciatingly painful lows. It’s taken me a little while but I’ve now written a book about my adventure – it follows the journey from the very first seeds in my mind all the way through to the post pandemic present day.
According to Etymology Online, the word ‘bonkers’ originated in the 1940s as naval slang for someone a little bit drunk. It later evolved into a general, light-hearted term for outrageous behaviour or pushing the boundaries of social norms.
It is fair to say that both definitions have been relevant to me at various stages of my life.
I have adopted the word Bonkers because it sounds so alliteratively pleasing alongside my surname, and I have spent my whole life trying to find where those boundaries are hiding.
This book is about living life to the full and trying to make the world a better place. It shares a single chapter in my life where I attempted to undertake a quadrathlon around the coastline of Britain in 28 days.
Was that a little bit Bonkers? A lot of people at the time said it was…..to make up your own mind you’d better buy the book. All proceeds go direct to The Pepper Foundation.
