I’m just the guy from the pub. If I can do it, anyone can,” says Sean Conway, the first person to have cycled, swum and run the length of Great Britain.
An unlikely endurance athlete in many ways, Conway isn’t ex-military or a former athlete. He had never run a marathon and had no experience of sea swimming prior to starting his challenges. Now 34 years old, he admits to spending most of his 20s being inactive and has a penchant for whisky and ale. He says what makes him able to complete his adventures is his talent for being cold, wet, hungry and miserable.
“I was new to each discipline when I started the Great Britain challenge, but with each one I wasn’t breaking any records, so I knew I could afford to get fit on the adventure itself,” says Conway. “However, saying that, I have learnt that adventures are far more enjoyable when you’re really fit!”
Curing life’s niggles
Previously a school photographer, in 2011 Conway decided he’d had enough of chasing the money. Having already cycled across the UK in 2008 – he thought it would be a cheap holiday and an efficient way to see the country – in 2011 he sold his share of the business to his partner for £1 and became a full-time adventurer, financing his simplified lifestyle with talks and writing books about his experiences.
He completed the swim in 2013 and the seven-week run (which took two attempts) on 4 May this year. The run is the subject of a Discovery channel documentary that aired on 25 June.
Conway believes the route to contentment is not through accumulating “stuff” but through undertaking challenges that are testing both mentally and physically. “We’re all a lot more physically and mentally capable than we think we are,” he says. “Exercise cures most of life’s minor little niggles. It really puts your life into perspective.
“If you’re running a marathon and hit mile 23, the colour you painted your living room, which wasn’t quite right, doesn’t matter any more. Being outdoors and having a mental and physical challenge can solve many of life’s problems.
“I do appreciate we live in a country where it’s not always easy being outdoors, but no great adventure started on a fine, sunny day. There’s no such thing as bad weather – just the wrong clothes.”
An adventurous mindset
Even though he did it, Conway claims you don’t have to give up the day job in order to find adventure – he suggests looking for the adventure in everyday life. For example, instead of taking the train from Cheltenham to London for a New Year’s Eve party, he decided to walk. And rather than fly to Geneva and get a bus to the Alps, he cycled, sleeping under a bivi along the way.
“Adventure in its purest form is just a way of thinking,” he says. “My mate Al Humphries always says, you might have to work nine to five, but you’ve still got the five to nine. There are so many things you can do to challenge yourself on a weekend, or long weekend, to live life more adventurously without sacrificing the people who rely on you.”
He also believes everyone is far more capable of completing a challenge than they think they are: “If you have an idea, make it harder and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get there. If you’re thinking you can’t run a 5k race, sign up for a 10k. Once the bar is set up there, you take it more seriously.”
Conway plans to start his next adventure in September, which is set to involve swimming, cycling and running in an ultimate endurance challenge. However, he also likes the idea of organising his own epic Iron Man for others to take part in: “That would fit with my idea of adding experiences to my life. It would be long – the sort of race where you’d need to train for six months solid. I like to be at the far extreme of what’s possible. But if I can do what I’ve done, then anyone can do it. Because I’m not anything special.”
