100-mile paddle, run and cycle in under 24 hours

AFTER kayaking, running and cycling around the island, covering a distance of 100 miles, Steve Langlois said he was exhausted but elated.

Steve Langlois kayaked, cycled and ran 100 miles in under 24 hours to raise money for three local charities and the Guernsey Water general manager said the volunteers with those charities are the real heroes as he was doing something he loved. (Picture by Sophie Rabey, 28667505)

The general manager of Guernsey Water took on the feat as a personal challenge, hoping to raise more awareness for the Tour the Shores challenge which was raising funds for three local charities – Smile for Georgie, Les Bourgs Hospice and Guernsey Mind.

Tour the Shores has seen a group of 50 kayakers circumnavigate four of the islands in the Bailiwick so far, with one more to go – Alderney.

Following his eight-hour kayak around Guernsey’s shores on Monday with a small group of fellow Tour the Shores fundraisers, Mr Langlois proceeded to run 35 miles around the island, and then hop on a bike for his final 40-mile lap.

Having done ultra-marathon training before, Mr Langlois suffered an injury two years ago and was determined to come back stronger.

Guernsey Water general manager Steve Langlois on his kayak around Guernsey on Monday 7 September. Picture supplied. (28672708)

To prove he had, he set himself this challenge with the aim of finishing within 24 hours.

In total, he was in the kayak seat for nine hours and 15 minutes, ran for eight hours and 15 minutes and was on the bike for four hours and 15 minutes. With the rest of the time spent transitioning between the three disciplines, he managed to complete the 100 miles in 23 hours 15 minutes.

‘Everything took a little bit longer than planned because there was a very strong headwind along the west coast,’ he said.

‘I’ve never taken on a physical challenge anywhere near as tough as this before, and when every part of my body was screaming for me to stop, I just kept going.’

For Mr Langlois, it was as much of a mental test as it was a physical one.

‘But this was just one day – and I was just doing three things I love,’ he said.

Guernsey Water general manager Steve Langlois was part of the Tour the Shores kayak team that circumnavigated Guernsey on Monday 7 September. He then ran and cycled around the island. Picture supplied. (28672711)

‘The real heroes are the volunteers and people within the charities who are there to provide support day in and day out.

‘If my challenge did even the smallest bit to raise funds and awareness for these charities, that’s huge for me, and it was a real motivator to keep going.’

Several of his friends turned out to support him, at all times of the night.

‘It was ridiculous o’clock in the morning and a couple of my friends were there ready to join me and keep pushing me on,’ he said.

Completing the challenge has still not quite sunk in yet, but Mr Langlois said he had so much adrenaline at the end that, despite the exhaustion, he could not sleep afterwards.

He thanked Barber Jay, CrossFit Castaway Box II and Adventure Cycles for sponsoring each of his three laps and hoped islanders would be encouraged to donate to the Tour the Shores fundraiser, found at: www.justgiving.com/team/TeamOG