This Yorkshire director is preparing for one of the UK’s toughest cycle events

Lee Brown, 47, director of urban design at Wakefield-based JRP Associates, is one of 64 riders taking part in the GBDuro, which runs from Lands End to John O’Groats, covering the UK’s hilliest terrain – Welsh valleys, Yorkshire hills and Scottish Highlands.

The total distance is over 2000km and comes with a leg-burning total elevation of over 108,000ft – 3.7 times the height of Everest.

He is expecting to be on the road for between nine to 11 days. He will aim to sleep for around six hours each night and ride for up to 16 hours per day.

He said: “I am aware that this is a pretty extreme way to get fit after lockdown, but since I became aware of the event it’s something I’ve wanted to do, so I applied and was successful.”

He added: “I had a bad accident a couple of years ago and, due to a number of complications, had to have my collar bone removed. Thankfully it’s not impairing my training and I’m really looking forward to the race, albeit with a certain amount of trepidation.

“It’s such a big leap into the unknown; I don’t know how long it will take, where or even if I’ll finish. I’m just going to take it one day at a time and see how I get on.”

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James Mitchinson