Rowing effort really is one in a million!
AFTER his rowing machine lay unused and gathering dust, an airport worker has now set himself the challenge of rowing a million metres by Christmas.
Gary Scully, from Tytherington, initially set himself the goal of rowing the equivalent of three marathons or 130,000 metres in August.
Mid-way through the month and Gary, 56, has almost rowed 250,000 metres and is now confident he can complete a million by the end of the year.
Gary, who lives on Lingfield Close, said: “I set myself the challenge at the end of July, when my father-in-law passed away – that was my commitment.
“I originally wanted to row the equivalent of three marathons but I’m way past that now, I’m on 220,000 and should hit a quarter of a million in the next few days.” Gary says that he doesn’t set himself a particular target each day, preferring to sit on the machine and row as much as he can – depending on how he feels.
He said: “The longest I’ve done in a day is around 30km, but there have been days where I’ve it all.” Gary once served in the Army, having spent time posted at Camp Bastion during the Afghanistan conflict.
He said that while he had some experience rowing, he hadn’t used a machine since 2014.
He says that his achievements are causing a stir among friends and family, who are incredulous of the distances he has rowed without any formal training.
Gary, who moved to the area from Sussex in June, said: “My friends and neighbours think I’m mad but Jules, my wife, is very proud as are my parents and sister.
“My workplace is running an article in the company quarterly and the staff at work (I’m the boss) are planning something similar at work – so it looks like my example has had a good effect.”
As well as the personal challenge, Gary has been raising money for his father-in-law’s favoured charities – the RNLI and Macmillan Cancer Support.