Our challenges FOR CHARITY

Passionate about good causes, these three women have pushed themselves to new heights

- KATE CHAPMAN

‘I wanted to try new things’
Rachel Bishop, 55, is publisher of Lincoln Independent magazine. She lives in Lincoln with husband Warren, 51, and son Gabriel, 18. I love rowing. I took it up for fun five years ago and was quickly hooked. I’d been trying new things with friends as we’d all got to an age where we wanted to challenge ourselves while we still could. We climbed Mount Snowdon, completed a muddy run and joined Lincoln Rowing Club.

Rowing looks easy, but it’s technical. When out on the water you have to stay focused. You have to keep in rhythm with everyone else, but you come off the water with a clear head. It’s therapeutic and self-motivating.

Club captain Deb Speed had the idea of attempting the record for the longest tandem indoor continual row – she already had one world record. I wanted to raise funds for St Barnabas Hospice, and she offered to do this with me. ‘You’re stronger than you think. It’s better to fail trying than not to try,’ she told me.

The training was arduous – I’d be at Deb’s house at 6am on Saturdays to get six hours in on the rowing machine. We’d keep ourselves going with rubbish TV, loud music and coffee! We raised over £3,000 in sponsorship, but two weeks before the row, the pandemic stopped everything. When things opened up again, we agreed we had to do it, as people had given money. We had to retrain, which was hard.