Matt Jones is taking on a massive challenge in September. Not content with just doing the 100 mile Kielder 100, he’ll also kayak 5 miles across Kielder Water and then run 26 miles around the Lakeside Way, a gruelling 26 miles. All in 24-hours.

With a matter of weeks before the Kielder 100 and therefore Killer Kielder training is well in truly in to the ‘last minute fit in what you can whilst still allowing for a taper phase’!

With rumours around some changes to the Kielder 100 course and the entry list looking as strong as it has ever been, there is going to be a real ding dong battle for the now coveted prize of joining the winners list for the K100. Get those drog bags packed with special goodies, pacing charts strapped to handlebars and get set for a long but epic day in the saddle.

For me the race will just be the beginning of what will be a very long day on the bike (100miles), in a kayak across Kielder Water (5 miles) and on foot around the lakeside way (a marathon) as I try and complete the biggest challenge of my life, Killer Kielder.

Trying to fit in training for 3 events has been hard but improvising where possible has really helped. So not being able to get out in a kayak has been substituted with swimming (similar range of movement), fundraising has been combined with cycling the Sustrans C2C (more on that shortly) and sneaky runs here and there to keep things ticking over. However I’ve always been firmly of the opinion that training will only take you so far, mental strength will take you the whole way.

So in honour of this theory both to build mental strength and to prove to any doubters how seriously I’m taking this challenge I’ve been off the sauce for a while now and by the big day I’ll have abstained for 6 months. I’ll definitely be looking forward to some Bruichladdich whiskey after the event! The fact that I’m doing this all for a great cause in the Calvert Trust Kielder is definitely a motivating factor helping me get up early for pre work swims and doing interval sessions on the bike.

As previously mentioned I recently did the Sustrans C2C whilst fundraising, how you might ask. Well I did the C2C virtually on a Tacx virtual reality trainer in the Metrocentre shopping centre in Gateshead to get donations from shoppers, at the same time we were making pedal powered smoothies and selling them to raise funds. I cheated a bit and put the settings on an easier mode to flatten the hills a bit so I managed it in just less than 9 hours which is still a long time sat on a turbo trainer indoors without a fan!

I’m really grateful to all the people who have supported me on this journey to Killer Kielder so far, especially to those who will be supporting me on the day, this is definitely a team effort and I’ll be hosting a BBQ with lots of beer the day after to thank everyone. So thanks to Bruichladdich, M Steel Cycles, Exposure Lights, Purple Mountain and Perro.

Read some more background on the challenge here.

There’s more at his website www.killerkielder.co.uk and you can donate here www.justgiving.com/killerkielderchallenge