Introducing the man behind Davina McCall’s emotional challenge
Sport Relief 2014 is just around the corner, and the number of Brits being caught by the bug is rising by the day.
Of course, for those who are not only making donations but actively participating in fundraising challenges, Sport Relief provokes a whole host of different emotions.
Nothing has encompassed what it means to challenge yourself for a good cause better than television personality Davina McCall, who in recent weeks has pushed her own limits in over 450 miles worth of gruelling fundraising, with the emotional aftermath there for a national audience to see. One of the understated keys to her success has been there by Davina’s side both as a training coach and as a mentor.
Greg Whyte has helped numerous celebrities raise awareness for these opportunities to better yourself and help the less fortunate while you’re at it – including actor/comedian Eddie Izzard’s storied 43 marathons in 51 days. And when you hear things such as “if these celebrities can do this, so can you!”, Greg wants you to know that it’s no company line. You really could.
“You’d be surprised just how unfit and unprepared our celebrity athletes are before they start training,” Whyte told Eurosport-Yahoo!. “Davina McCall could only swim 25 metres coming in to her triathlon, for instance.”
Whyte admitted such challenges took a huge toll on McCall, but that, among other vital roles, is what he is there for. He explained: “Though a lot of the work is of course about physical preparation, it is important that we make sure they are ready mentally.”… “You do find yourself in a mentoring role, at times, as such gruelling tasks require a lot of mental strength as well as physical fitness.”
So, if you find yourself in that extremely-common situation of having a strong desire to try out a marathon, a swimathon, a long-distance bike ride or even a combination of various disciplines but lack the motivation to start the journey, Greg has this to say to you.
“To those who haven’t yet been convinced by all of us at Sport Relief to get involved, I would offer my mantra and that is ‘anything is possible’ It goes without saying that the key to that being the case is commitment, though.” And a recollection of personal experience Whyte offered us may help allay those fears of whether or not it would feel like it was worth it when all is said and done. “The best part for me is seeing the donation money rack up,” Whyte said, admitting that long days of work and joining in with arduous training wash straight off him when he sees the difference they are making for charity.
“You do get a little drawn into the emotion of some of these feats, and just how engaging large audiences of the public find it when the likes of Davina and Eddie Izzard do what they’re doing, but every morning when I show up for work my first words are ‘how much more money have we raised?’”
If you’ve been inspired by Greg to take on your own challenge then sign up to an event at the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games.
You can run, swim, or cycle different distances and raise money to help transform lives in the UK and around the world by entering at www.sportrelief.com
UK Eurosport Yahoo, Introducing the man behind Davina McCall’s emotional challenge [Eurosport | 27 February 2014].