“I’m having a battle with the hoover at the minute”. A strong Gloucester accent peaks my interest. Not the introduction you’d expect from someone who has broken some of the toughest world records known to man.
I guess no superhero has the superpowers to prepare for a viral pandemic so Jamie, aka Adventureman, has copious amounts of time like the rest of us. You’d think this would be a good time to reflect, slow down and relax.. but apparently not! Jamie’s girlfriend, Anna McDuff, is also an adventurer. They’re slowing working their way through her book: ‘100 adventures to have before you grow up’ in which they’ve spent the last few days building a massive indoor den. Jamie explains: “we’re bringing adventure into the house.” The golden tip for coping with the lockdown according to Jamie is to get your daily exercise. He says with a laugh: “if you feel like sorta strangling them at any point then I’d say get out the house to do some movement.” Couldn’t agree more!
Jamie started the first nine years of his life in and out of Gloucestershire hospital with a rare spinal condition called Syringomyelia which was potentially life limiting. At age 9, with his new found love of tennis, Jamie’s symptoms began to ease attributed with becoming more active and help from doctors and nurses. At the age of 25, Jamie quit his job and felt like a big adventure would be the chance to raise money for the hospital that helped him many years ago. Jamie explains that life changing decision:
“I just remember going through this period in my life where I just kept saying to myself,” he pauses and carefully emphasises these words, “there must be more to life.”
Over the next few years, Jamie accomplishes cycling from Bangkok to Gloucester, the equivalent of 14,000 miles. Weeks later he broke the Guinness World Record for ‘Marathon static cycling’, pedalling for 268 hours, 32 minutes and 44 seconds – more than eleven days. He became the first person to run across Canada without a support crew, which is the equivalent to 200 marathons. Jamie raised more than £200,000 for sick kids in Canada and the UK whilst running as the superhero: The Flash.
And he didn’t stop there. Adventureman, his new superhero name, finished the 210 marathon run across America ending up in a little town in Gloucester (USA). His next adventure was in Gloucester, (UK), where he broke the world record for ‘the greatest distance covered on a treadmill within one week’ – 524 miles to be exact! He has to date raised over £1 million for unwell kids across the world.
Setting up the Superhero Foundation, a charity helping sick kids, Jamie explains why he continues adventuring and raising money. He says: “I always really like to connect with the families and see where the donations go. We help individual families and that means I can actually get that connection with families in need then that fulfils me to keep going.”
Jamie received a Pride of Britain Award in 2019, which he still describes in an abundance of disbelief. “It was ridiculous! To get up on the stage with Carol Vordamon and I had Simon Cowell in front of me. I was just thinking what is going on! It was kinda all a bit too surreal really.” But when it was all over and he got off the stage there was only one person he wanted to celebrate with. “I went and had a beer with my dad and that was probably the most special part really, having a beer with my dad at the end of it all.”
In his best selling book ‘Adventureman: Anyone Can Be A Superhero’, he opens up about another challenge he faces everyday, dyslexia. Jamie says: “It has turned into a superhero power because I kept telling myself when I was really young that I was thick and stupid. I guess I was in that era when dyslexia wasn’t a thing and people weren’t diagnosed at that time. So in the end I had to grow and develop in other areas which is human connection and I guess being a lot more resourceful in recognising the writing and intellectual side was gonna always be a big challenge for me.” He is currently 62,000 words into finishing a second book about his time in America. We both chuckle at the irony.
The “Gloucester boy through and through” says nothing ever changes when he comes back from his adventures. In fact, his mum’s always there to add some normality and stick the kettle on. Having overcome challenges around the world, Jamie explains what he’s learnt from the adventures: “I think the adventures and the records ended up teaching me a very valuable lesson as I achieved them which is… we really can do anything!”
To find out more about the Superhero Foundation and Jamies adventures, go to: https://www.adventureman.org/
Jessica Sykes 