In July 2020, myself and Ewan Murray will be attempting to row the entire length of the navigable Thames. That is c.200km, over 40 lochs and the equivalent of roughly 5 rowing marathons over 5 days...

No doubt you are quite rightly thinking, "hang on, you two can barely walk. let alone row...!" And for the most part you would be correct. However last year, under the tutelage of Olympian and all round Pirate, Pete Wells we quietly committed to rowing daily and even testing ourselves in a few warm up races and events (if you want to see the worst start in history you should watch the bagpipes sending us off to race Loch Ness!). Whilst we are not quite Olympic standard... We have proven we can stay afloat long enough to be a threat!

This came about when we both knew we wanted to do something genuinely challenging to raise money for an incredible children's charity. CHICKS is that charity. Giving respite to vulnerable children across the UK. Giving them moments of hope and light in their difficult young lives. Giving them a chance to be children. Their CEO says it far better than me -

"One week can be gone in the blink of an eye. But one week when you're eight and braving the dizzying heights of a rock climbing wall, patting the horse you didn't believe you could ride, or beaming with pride as new friends exclaim how amazing you are at Dobble can last a long time – even forever.

Every child who comes on a CHICKS break is escaping a home life that can be hard and unfair, to realise they are a unique and brave young person. There are currently 4.1 million children in the UK who worry about washing because they've run out of hot water, or hungrily stand at food banks clutching their sibling's hands. For the children who come on a CHICKS break, this is real life.

Many of those who came to CHICKS in 2019 were living in poverty. Others were suffering the agonising pain of losing a loved one, struggling with the impact of abuse or neglect, or shouldering the overwhelming responsibility of caring for a sick or disabled family member. For these young people, a break at CHICKS is a reason to smile on even the darkest of days. "

It's an astonishing charity, that does amazing things for the little people in this world that need us to do more for them. This is a challenge we are taking very seriously. Before we announced doing this we wanted to prove to ourselves and to you that we were capable of the long-term commitment it takes to actually achieve it. We used the Magic Mountain App to track our training and hit our goals week in week out and as the new decade ensued we knew we wanted to aim high, and most importantly we had proved to ourselves we could make the long-term lifestyle changes necessary to be successful.

We have also set a fundraising target that is as challenging as the event itself. That's because whilst we believe we can do this. We KNOW that you can do this! Every single penny you raise between now and July will be motivating us through the long dark hours of cold early morning training and soaking wet late night training. We don't just want to hit our target, we want to smash it. In that vein I sincerely ask you to give what you can. It really will all make an incredible difference. Beyond that I'm going to ask you share this, with your friends, family and colleagues to help us raise as much money as we possibly can for this incredible charity.

We are so pleased to share that both @RowTours and @MagicMountainapp are supporting this wonderful event and this truly amazing charity. They are helping to make sure every single penny you donate goes directly to the kids that need it the most. RowTours are providing the coaching, boats, safety equipment and general logistical support to make this happen. Magic Mountain App are providing funding, media coverage, film crew and fund raising support across the board. Thanks to both for being such wonderful supporters.

We will be documenting everything so you can join our whole journey and support however you can! We also have some truly incredible announcements coming around how we are getting the kids directly involved in this adventure!

Now PLEASE!! Donate what you can and be a part of this special adventure!