Anyone who’s competed at popular 24-hour races like Mountain Mayhem or Sleepless in the Saddle will be familiar with the antics of the unicycle racers. Despite only having the one wheel and no possibility of coasting, they’re rarely last. As if such an event wasn’t challenge enough, one of those unicycle racers is now aiming for the record books.

Sam Wakeling is a final year Computer Science undergraduate student at Aberystwyth University. Despite only having learned to ride a unicycle four years ago, he’s become a regular competitor at 24-hour races and has one-wheeled his way 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

The current Guiness World Record for greatest distance covered on a unicycle in 24 hours is 378.7km (235.3 miles), set by New Zealander Ken Looi in 2005. Sam’s goal is to raise this to between 250 and 300 miles. He’ll be using a 36in wheeled unicycle around a 400m track at Aberystwyth University. To reach his target he’ll have to lap the track 1,000 times, which’ll be a test of willpower as well as physical endurance…

Sam says, “This unicycle has become my main form of transport. My longest distance so far is 150 miles in a day when I rode to Manchester recently, so I have a fairly good idea of what it may feel like.”

“It means getting into a good, steady rhythm at 14-15mph, and then sticking at it for several hours at a time between short breaks. I’ll be trying to take off no more than about ten minutes at a time until the finish.”

He also wants to use this feat to raise money for the charity Christian Aid, who work with partner organisations of all faiths and none around the world to tackle both the causes and effects of poverty. Their current campaign focus is climate change, and the devastating effect that this has on those least responsible for it.

And after the record attempt Sam can look forward to his next challenge – the first international unicycle stage race. The 800km/five day race will be held in Nova Scotia, Canada next June and will be contested by 60 of the world’s top distance unicyclists.