Fundraising rower targets 24-hour rowing record

Adaptive rower Gus McKechnie will attempt to break the world record for a 24-hour row on Thursday, in aid of Children in Need.

Starting at 5pm on Thursday evening, Gus aims to row more than 141,438 metres by 5pm Friday – breaking the current world record for a 24-hour row, set in June 2010.

To break the record, Gus will only be able to rest for five minutes in every hour of rowing, averaging six kilometres an hour for the entire 24-hour period.

‘If I can stay awake for the entire time, I can do this,’ said Gus, who has raised over £2.1million for charities in the last seven years.

‘I have undertaken a number of endurance challenges for charity in the past, so I am confident I can achieve this one if I can fight off the fatigue.’

Gus – who has congenital hemiparesis (a form of cerebral palsy) – has previously run the New York Marathon five times and the London Marathon twice.

He will be undertaking his 24-hour rowing challenge alongside colleagues from the Red Funnel Isle of Wight Ferries, who are also raising money for Children in Need with a 24-hour team cycle challenge.

Red Funnel will stream Gus’s challenge live on their Facebook page.

For more information about how to support Gus’s Children in Need challenge, visit www.redfunnel.co.uk or donate at www.justgiving.com/redfunnel24rowcycle.