THEIR BOLDEST

Alumnae Duo Take on Boldest Challenge Yet

Abby Johnston (Class of 2007 and current LEH Senior Rowing Coach) and Charlotte Irving (Class of 2008) have teamed up with Kat Cordiner, in a bid to break the record for the fastest trio to row 3,000 across the Atlantic, and all while raising funds for cancer charities.

The Talisker Whisky Atlantic challenge is an endurance race like no other. In December 2021, rowers from around the world will gather in La Gomera, the Canary Islands, as they prepare to row 3,000 miles unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean to Antigua.

Abby, Charlotte and Kat – known as team ExtraOARdinary - are rowing across the world’s second largest ocean in aid of three cancer charities: Cancer Research, Macmillan and The Royal Marsden. More people have summited Everest than have successfully rowed across the Atlantic and with less than 20% of all ocean rowers being female, the team hope to show girls all over the country just what can be achieved when you are prepared to push the limits.

Abby and Charlotte both learned to row at the Lady Eleanor Holles School Boat Club and were part of the crew that became National Champions in 2007. They both went on to row together at Newcastle University winning various national titles and qualifying for Henley Royal Regatta, but now they are taking on the toughest rowing race in the world…

The friends really seem to have taken LEH’s School motto “Hope Favours the Bold” to heart, as they have both already undertaken various impressive challenges in recent years. “extraoardinary” challenge, although perhaps their teachers did not have something so extreme in mind…

In 2016, Charlotte walked the entire length of America on the Pacific Crest Trail, carrying everything she might need on her own back. The 2,600-mile trek across deserts and mountain ranges took her almost five months to complete.

Then in 2018, Abby took part in the Clipper Round the World Race. On a 70ft yacht, crewed by amateur sailors (herself included) Abby sailed from Australia, up to China and then across the North Pacific. Here she faced 60ft waves, freezing temperatures and seas so rough that most boats would not dare sail in these conditions.

LEH’s ethos of encouraging students to push their boundaries might well have inspired the intrepid duo’s desire to take on their latest The crew will be living on a 23ft boat for up to 60 days, rowing two hours on and two hours off as they race across the world’s second largest ocean. They will battle storms, 25-foot waves, salt sores, sleep deprivation, hunger and a lack of home comforts. In fact, they will be lacking most things - including beds and a toilet! Christmas and New Year will bring little in the way of presents and pudding, delivering instead potential equipment failure, marlin attacks, shipping lanes and capsizes instead.

With less than nine months to go before setting off on their journey, with a world-record time of 49 days, 13 hours, 49 minutes to beat, Kat, Charlotte and Abby are at the beginning of their rigorous training programme.

With a target to raise £100,000 across the three charities, a number of fundraising initiatives are underway and can be followed on the team’s website and social media. Please do follow the team on their journey to the start line of this year’s race and if you would like to get involved you can donate to their GoFundMe, or get in touch via the addresses below.

www.weareextraoardinary.com

Instagram: @weareextraoardinary Email: crew@weareextraoardinary.com GoFundMe: gofund.me/76c4edbc

WEEKLY TRAINING PROGRAMME

MONDAY Two hours strength training TUESDAY Stretching and one hour high intensity intervals on rowing machine WEDNESDAY Injury prevention exercises and 12-14k steady on rowing machine THURSDAY Rest day – including light stretching FRIDAY Two hours strength training SATURDAY Stretching and one hour high-intensity intervals on watt bike or running SUNDAY - Injury prevention exercises

The team are having to adapt to the ever-changing Covid-19 regulations, switching up their training to fit with whatever equipment they have at home. From rowing machines in lean-tos, to kettlebell circuits in the living rooms of top-floor flats. See the training programme section for what a normal week looks like for the team.

However, the aim of the race is not just to break a world record. The crew are undertaking this massive challenge to turn the tide on cancer and raise muchneeded funds for cancer charities Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on every aspect of our daily lives, cancer patients are among the worst hit by the current pandemic. One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives and this is an issue that is sadly close to home for so many – including the crew. Kat Cordiner, having already beaten cancer once, is currently battling against the disease again.

Kat says: “This challenge not only represents a chance for us to raise awareness of the massively detrimental impact that Covid-19 has had on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, but also to inject a much-needed fundraising boost to our charities that have missed out on their usual opportunities this year.”

She continues: “This challenge also represents something more - to live like I’ve never lived before. We grow up thinking we’re guaranteed 85 years of life and the ability to do what we want. I read somewhere that a cancer diagnosis helps you understand life is a gift and not a guarantee, and this creates opportunities.

“Even after my first diagnosis, I found I stopped stressing over a lot of things, I gained perspective on what was important, and I’m determined to make the most out of however much time I have. The challenge to row the Atlantic in aid of three epic charities with the hopes of smashing the world-record is one that the team and I are incredibly passionate about – and cancer won’t stand in our way.”