This Friday, teams working in London’s financial district will go head-to-head in a 500km relay triathlon from London to Paris known as The Enduro Challenge.
Without sleeping, five men and one woman from each firm will battle each other in a 160km run from London to Dover (2 x 13 km each), a 40km swim across the Channel without wetsuits (2 x 1 hour each), and finally a 300km cycle from Calais to Paris (50 km each).
The team to watch this year are defending champions Accenture, who were the only Enduro team to get across the English Channel in the 2013 race and have a reputation to protect. Never complacent, we’ve scoured our vast organisation to build a team comprising Ironman finishers, solo channel swimmers, ex-marines and various international sportsmen that have somehow found themselves now sitting behind a desk for a job.
Our preparation has been epic, with each team member finding the time to train 12 hours a week, acclimatise to the frigid waters of the English Channel, navigate tricky running routes through the North Downs, and get over to France to pre-ride the cycle legs.
The Enduro Challenge starts at 7am at Tower Bridge on 29 August and should finish 36 hours later on the outskirts of Paris.
Good luck to all teams taking part!