The former southampton footballer is as tough on a bike as he was no-nonsense fullback in the 1990s.
I’ve been fascinated by ultra-endurance challenges since I retired.
I wondered how I’d respond to such extreme physical and mental pressure, and found out during the first of my two big challenges. Benali’s Big Run in 2014 had a concept linked to my past, where I ran 1000 miles over three weeks to all 20 Premier League stadiums. I wanted something that was big enough to capture people’s imaginations, push myself and raise as much as I could for a fantastic cause. In my case it was Cancer Research UK – we’ve been touched by cancer as a family, so the £265,000 we raised was pleasing.
The day after finishing the run, I knew I wanted to move onto the next challenge.
We’d set the bar so high the first time, figuring out how to top it was hard. We added more clubs – Premier League and Championship (44 in total), more miles, in fewer days, as well as spicing it up with the bike. It’d involve a marathon each day and a minimum of 75 miles on the bike. We’d call it Benali’s Big Race.
The cycling element was tough.
Esta historia es de la edición March 2017 de Cycling Plus.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 2017 de Cycling Plus.
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The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
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