Ben Gallagher completes the Big Row Hike Row: The highest peaks, pushing through pain and back into training for BRIC
Veteran, explorer, para rower, and Ambassador for Love Rowing Ben Gallagher reflects on his 138.2km challenge, his motivation, and what he’s tackling next
Credit: Josh Raper Media
Last week, Ben rowed the three biggest lakes in Scotland, England, and Wales, and hiked the three nearest tallest peaks in just three days. The challenge raised funds for Love Rowing, a charity dedicated to delivering accessible rowing programmes to those who might otherwise not be able to try the sport.
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“You go through this build phase and things start to come together, and then about a week out, you’re like, I just want to go now!”
“It really started to test me – I was like, it’s day one, come on Ben, you’ve got this.”
A lot of Ben’s excitement was due to the impact he knew the challenge would have on Love Rowing. “Whenever I fundraise, I like to have a number of connections for the reason why – the reason behind is it quite important. I’ve spoken a lot about how rowing has helped me, so becoming an ambassador for Love Rowing was an obvious decision.”
“A few days before the challenge, I was doing my Level 1 Indoor Rowing Coach Training. People were wishing me good luck – it was a stepping stone into it. Then the journey up to Loch Ness was obviously quite long. Once we got up there, I think we just got into the swing of things.”
Ben was supported by the Love Rowing team, CEO Rebecca Gibson, and Nick Steel. “Having a great team around you is so important – it’s not necessarily always about the personal effort of the person completing the challenge. The admin team was really on it.”
Ben’s 138.2km journey began on the banks of Loch Ness at first light on the first day of the challenge. Ben had joked about being knocked out of his boat by Nessie earlier in his challenge prep, but was greeted by stunning views and flat water for his first row.
“There was fog on the water – a misty haze. It was one of the most beautiful sights of the challenge.”
Rowing the biggest lakes in Scotland, England, and Wales meant Ben’s gruelling efforts were sweetened by many incredible vistas.
“Windermere first thing on Tuesday morning was literally like a mirror. It was eerie, but in a very cool way, with a layer of mist sitting on top of the water. There was someone swimming in the lake next to me at the start – it was cool to see other people out doing sports at the same time.”
The views on top of Aran Fawddwy were unmatched. It was absolutely stunning, just a sheer drop on one side, and then you just saw this amazing landscape in the background.”
Ben needed all possible motivation to push through three days of trail running and rowing. “I struggled the last 5 or 6km of Loch Ness. It really started to test me a bit as the water conditions worsened, and I was like, it’s day one, come on Ben, you’ve got this.”
“We’d come down a different route on the run and probably added 8km to the trail. That threw me off a little bit; it was quite pounding on the legs. During the second half of the row, I had to keep trying to stretch out the blood flow into my left leg.”
Ben’s training involved time on the indoor rowing machine, in the gym for strength and mobility, and putting miles down on the water.
“If I were to do it again, I probably would have spent more time on the water, continuously rowing.”
Ben is straight back into the gym and on the water following the challenge, pushing towards his next goal: the British Rowing Indoor Championships.
“I did Sculler’s Head on the Sunday after the challenge in the Swift boat I used for the challenge. It was cool – a few people asked me about the boat and about Love Rowing. I might do a few more heads, then BRIC in December.”
Ben races Scullers Head 2025. Credit: AllMarkOne
Ben is an Invictus Games indoor rowing Champion and coach – last year’s cohort of Invictus Games athletes at BRIC was the biggest on record, and this year their entry is shaping up to be just as strong.
“The challenge was a lot of long, slower distances at rate 22 or 24, with a bit of power. I’m building back now, more power and obviously a faster-moving pace for shorter distances. I’ll build up the 2000m and the 1 minute.”
Ben will look to defend his two PR3 British Champion titles from 6-7 December at the NEC, Birmingham. Enter now to start your training today.
