Extreme Athlete Plans To 'Walk' Across Irish Sea Aboard Human-Powered Hamster Wheel

To say that Chris Todd likes to take on the world's toughest physical challenges is an understatement. The Bromham, England resident has won the 6633 ultra, a grueling 350-mile trek across the Arctic not once but twice, ranked second in the Gobi Ultra challenge, which entails running six marathons over six days and recently completed the world's longest (125 mile) non-stop canoe race. Now, he is getting ready for his toughest challenge yet - 'walking' 66-miles across the Irish Sea aboard a human-powered hamster wheel!

The 35-year old who came up with the idea about a year ago whilst canoeing on a lake said it took him, his wife and two friends 11 months to build his home-made 'Tredalo' or human hamster wheel - a contraption that comprises of a giant wheel and two floats on either side that act as stabilizers. The interior is fitted with a wire mesh upon which a person can walk and move the wheel forward.

Though the 66-mile long trek, may seem plenty ambitious for most of us, Chris's original plan had been to cross the 150-mile long English Channel. However, it was difficult to get permission and the costs involved were so high that he decided to bring it down a notch and settle for the Irish Sea.

The athlete who plans to do the epic crossing sometime next month, estimates that during his non-stop, two-day journey, he will burn about 36,000 calories and need 30 liters of water and the equivalent of about 60 mars bars to maintain his energy level. Talk about an extreme workout! However, all this effort will not go to waste. That's because Chris is doing it for his two favorite charities and hopes to raise at least $40,000 USD.

As to whether he will be able to complete this herculean task? The athlete sure hopes so. He has been training for it on both - the local lakes and a stationary surface. However, things will be different when he is on the unpredictable open seas especially, in the darkness of the night when there is a possibility that he might get trampled over by an unsuspecting boat. We sure hope he succeeds in this self-created endurance challenge that is like none other!

Resources: BBC.co.uk, Dailymail.co.uk