Introduction

A 40/20 in Rugby League is difficult to achieve.  However, a successful 40/20 kick is a massive bonus to your team.  Rugby League is one of the toughest sports where the highest standards of fitness and professionalism are a minimum requirement.  Whilst I never played League, I did a lot of cycling and was pretty fit.

As age and the tally of daily blood pressure tablets creeps up, the time has come to do something positive.  The fight back started on 18th May this year when I started to two 24 hour fasts a week, two alcohol free days a week and two endurance work outs a week.  I have lost 10 pounds so far.  

As part of the programme to overcome the inevitable consequences of a liking of all things food and beer, I have decided to set myself a challenge and create the 40/20 biathlon challenge.

The Challenge

Complete a 40km cycle  (25 miles) on the Wattbike Pro and a 20km row on the Concept 2 within the playing time of the two Challenge cup semi finals on August 5th 2018.  

40km on a Wattbike Pro: This year my best 40km is 1 hour 12.3 minutes. 

20km on a concept 2 Rowing Machine: In the year ended 30 April 2018 I rowed 873km.  My half marathon time was 1 hour 36.54 minutes. I was 23rd out of 87 rowers in the Royal Navy Team who came 14th (out of 2421 teams) in the overall world standings for the year.

How it will work

The Challenge will start with cycling on the blowing of the whistle for the first half of the first semi final (St Helens v Catalan Dragons) at 12.30pm and will stop when the whistle blows for the end of the first half.  The distance will be recorded and the remainder of the distance will be cycled starting with the blowing of the whistle for the second half.  

During this half the cycling will be completed and the rowing will commence, allowing for a change of kit.  The rowing will stop at the blowing of the whistle for full time and the distance will be recorded. There is a gap of no more that 45 minutes from the end of the first semi-final to the start of the second semi-final (Warrington v Leeds) when the rowing will recommence on the same pattern of following the start and end of each half, with the conclusion being the final whistle of the second semi-final, where we hope the Warrington team will be victorious.

The minimum time allowed will be 4 halves of 40 minutes each, being 160 minutes.  This will inevitably be increased by injury time, which is generally low in League.  The cycling and rowing time at best is 1:12.30 plus 1:36.54 gives 169 minutes, so the challenge is going to be close, but  I have the advantage that each minute of injury time will give me more time to complete and I will get two 10 minutes rest breaks and one 45 minute rest break.

Why the Royal Marines Charity?

My health issues are not uncommon and minimal when compared with others, particularly Servicemen injured in conflicts.  So, I want to use this challenge to raise charitable donations for the charity that I support which is the Royal Marines Charity.  My grandfather was a Private in the Royal Marines Light Infantry during the First World War and was medically discharged with tuberculosis: He survived.

The Royal Marines Charity exists to help the entire Royal Marines family. Offering a range of services to both serving, veterans and their families. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you for your support,

Colin