Why Chase the Sun – who knows… maybe it was Matt that planted the seed or maybe it was my cycling friends who suggested doing it as a relay – I don’t know. The relay option was discussed with friends and we were all in but then decided to do it solo but together.
Registration opened and I booked along with Matt – my friends, for various reasons didn’t. So here I was, signed up and committed.
I enjoy cycling and the furthest I have ever cycled was 180km / 112 miles, completing an Ironman in 2017 so this was going to be a challenge.
My job is physical – I am a Personal Trainer, running my own studio and 12 community classes so training was going to have to fit in around my business and of course around the British weather!
The Reality Check
So what is Chase the Sun?
Chase the Sun is a one-day endurance cycling event where riders attempt to cycle across a country between sunrise and sunset.
The South event, starts on the east coast at Minster-on-Sea in Kent and finishes on the west coast at Weston-super-Mare in Somerset.
The challenge is simple in concept:
☀️ Start at sunrise
🚴 Ride 205 miles (330 km)
🌅 Finish before sunset
But the reality is much tougher.
I had signed up to
Ride 205 miles / 330 km
Climb approximately 2,800–3,000 metres of climbing
Expect to spend 12–16+ hours in the saddle
Constant fueling (which I am good at) and hydration demands
The mental challenge of riding all day
I mean – this was a challenge right?
The Training
Training started in earnest in January 2026. I had a good base fitness from social cycling so had a great starting point and had learned a lot from my Ironman training to know everything about Zone 2 training which I put in place.
My job requires me to be on my feet most days delivering classes so I needed to work out my training days so that I wouldn’t be too fatigued.
So I created my own training plan – nothing too complicated – looking at building up my base fitness with 2 easy rides during the week (subject to weather) – 50km max Zone 2 with a long ride at the weekend gradually building up the distance week on week. If the weather was bad, I would hop on the spin bike and enjoy a Les Mills class just to keep ticking over.
I strength trained 2x a week, 1 x TRX Pilates and 1x TRX Yoga – these were classes that I taught so didn’t need to add anything extra.
My longest ride was 160km / 100 miles in preparation – only half the distance that I would be expected to ride.
Throughout May / June – I would often do 120km / 75 miles or 140km / 87 miles on a Saturday and then ride again on the Sunday – but shorter, 50km / 30 miles. Back to back riding was my strategy. Pretty much most of my rides were alone which was tough at times. Sometimes I would meet Matt at half way.
I started to work on my nutrition and find things that would work, trying to achieve up to 60grams of carbs every hour on the bike. It’s a lot of food but the body needs it. I made up little bags with Kendal mint cake, haribo, fig rolls, jelly beans, sports chews (high energy). I would often stop for cake or a bacon roll on my rides but was very conscious of my stopping time.
Most of my rides were at a very sensible pace, a pace that I could maintain for a long period. Chase the Sun isn’t a race – it’s an event so a sensible approach was necessary.
This challenge started to consume my life and our life. Matt was also doing it and I admired his confidence as mine started to drift.
There would be weeks where I would dread my Saturday solo ride, the anxiety and doubt would creep in. Am I good enough? Can I do this? Who knows?
Our Friday evenings would be about prepping the bikes, preparing the fuel, plotting the ride – towards the end I was getting bored of the same lanes around the area – I won’t lie. I started to ride with bone conducting ear pods to just help pass the time whilst on the bike. I learned a lot from podcasts – everything from creatine to AI.
Closer to the event, I was getting distracted by ‘noise’ – noise referring to others who were also doing the event – some were riding super long distances in readiness and I doubted whether I was prepared enough. But hey, I needed to trust the process and use all my experience to believe in the training.
The Week Before
Shit got real.
One more little ride to check the bike. All good. One last visit to my favourite coffee shop to load up on cake!
Weather watching. I had multiple apps – my one fear would be a headwind… that really does have an impact when riding. The weather kept changing. It was looking warm!
Packing and logistics. This was executed with military precision. That’s me. More food bought than necessary for our support crew. Every eventuality catered for. Powerbanks charged up. Butt butter sachets purchased – didn’t use this on any of my training rides, but something told me it might be needed!
Sleep, nerves and anticipation. Sleep was a mixture of nightmares and anxiety, tossing and turning leading up to the event. Perfectly normal!
The logistics were a tad complicated but more than manageable. We booked accommodation for 2 nights – Thursday / Friday. We drove the bikes to the start on the Thursday. We then trained it to the start on Friday afternoon, registered in the evening and then didn’t really sleep!
The Day
The alarm went off at 2.30am – to be fair – we didn’t sleep. We sat eating porridge oats – I never want to eat those again! We got ready, I had a bit of wobble, stating that if the car was here, I would put my bike in and head home… anyway, it wasn’t so we cycled to the start in the dark. Dropped off our bag that we would then be reunited with at Weston-super-Mare
… and then we were off!
The Early Miles were interesting. Both Matt and I cycled together, it was our plan until we got 175km / 108 miles to ensure we got through London safely. So many cyclists were flying by and I was thinking, holy cow, I will be right at the back and not make it. They were flying. We stuck to the plan, slow and steady at the start. The first half (100miles / 160km) was relatively flat – about 1,000m of climbing so it would be easy to get carried away, but we knew the second half was where the hills came so we needed to conserve some energy. Focusing on good hydration early on, aiming for 3 bottles every 100km / 62 miles.
London was a challenge – by the time we got to London the traffic was in full flow. But we navigated it safely with our first stop being at 92km / 56 miles where we met my sister for a quick pit stop of sandwiches, chocolate bar and a water top up. Time to get another snack bag ready, pop to the loo and then head out of London.
It was good to get out of London and on less busy roads. The next leg would take us to half way at Bramley – a mandatory stop to register and the possibility of stopping and having hot food. We decided against stopping here and had support crew at 175km / 108miles with more sandwiches, cherry coke, crisps, water, charging devices. I hit an emotional moment at this point. I had a little cry that I had made it this far and seeing familiar faces was just so heartwarming – Natalie, Ali, Gary – you were just awesome. I was now in new territory, having not ridden this far in my training.
My friend Ali, was joining me for the next 75km / 46miles and Matt could now ride faster without me and most definitely get to the finish before sunset. This part of the route was now getting hillier and Ali and I had a blast riding the hills – I was truly surprised at how good I was feeling. Still focusing on drinking and eating regularly. I did have a little pitstop to use my Butt Butter as I was starting to feel a tad uncomfortable on my bike. It did the trick! We were slowly overtaking people. It felt great!
We hit 250km for our final stop. Matt was there, had eaten and was just heading off. He offered to ride the last 83km with me, but I didn’t want to hold him back and I also knew that this was the tough bit, hill after hill after hill and I just needed to get my head down and keep the pedals turning. Ali’s husband Gary was there – he had driven ahead from our previous checkpoint with our food, water, chargers etc. Ali stopped at this point and Lillian also said hi at this checkpoint… and then it was time to finish this ride.
83km left – I broke it down into 10km / 6mile chunks, popped a good playlist on and just kept moving. I was still feeling great. I was slowly passing people – especially on the hills. People spoke of Cheddar Gorge and that we would be climbing it and I kept waiting for this mega climb to come along. Don’t get me wrong, there were hills after hills after hills and before I knew it I was at the top and descending down. I had acquired a new friend before reaching Cheddar, he was flagging but managed to stick on the back of me and grab a tow. He must have really enjoyed my running commentary as I descended, along with some expletives. We could see the sun starting to set in the distance. At the bottom we still had 30km to go.
So, me being me, I still felt good, so picked up the pace as the road was relatively flat, the odd little hill that had me spinning, but I was so determined to get to the finish to see a sunset sky at least. My new friend was sticking on me, encouraging me….I kept shouting ‘where’s the f*****g sea?’ and then we saw the signs for Weston. The sun was setting further. We were not going to make it, so I pedaled harder and then we were on the sea front, looking for the pier… and there it was. We had made it! The crowds lining the peer, the sunset sky and all the cheers. Omfg, I had actually done it – I had pedaled so hard and there was still the sunset sky awaiting us. I crossed the finish line to see Matt waiting for me. I jumped off my bike and gave him the biggest hug and shouted WE DID IT!. I couldn’t believe that we did it. There was never any doubt that Matt wouldn’t do it – he is a strong cyclist and had completed some awesome long rides in preparation and he has so much confidence. But we had both done it. We got a picture with the sunset sky behind us. Not quite sunset, but a sunset sky will just have to do.
The Unsung Heroes
Our support crew, you know who you are – you were just the best. Giving up your Saturday to support our crazy challenge. Without you, we wouldn’t have completed it so thank you!
Matt. You believed in me more than I believed in myself. You encouraged me and stuck by me. Thank you!
Family and friends – all your lovely messages, before, during and after the event kept me going. Thank you.
What Nobody Tells You
The realities of an ultra endurance event. You have to do the training and do it well. You have to stick to your plan on event day – don’t get carried away. Focus on your hydration early on and stick to it. The same with your fueling. Don’t try anything new on the day. You might feel great for the first 100miles when you are fresh, but remember this is a long event and not a sprint.
The Mental fatigue. It does happen, but you need to have a strategy. Mine was to break it down into chunks and tick every milestone off.
Constant eating and drinking. I mean you would think this was great right? Towards the end, I had to force it down despite not wanting it. My body needed the fuel.
How I Feel Now
Was it worth it? Hell yeah – that feeling seeing Matt at the finish and that both of us had done it. What a feeling! And still feeling great crossing the finishing line. Riding the furthest I have ridden and body feeling great – the training worked.
Would I do it again? No – been there and done it! Got the jersey and the medal.
The Biggest Lesson
The one thing I’ll take away from the experience. I need to believe in myself a lot more – others believe in me more than I believe in myself. It’s something I need to work on.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. If you can commit and give the event the respect it deserves, you can do it.
Interesting facts
Age : 52 / Female
Bike : Liv EnviLiv
Distance cycled 205 miles / 333km
Riding time : 15hr 33
Start to finish time : 17hr 44 including stops / traffic
Average speed : 21.6kph
Average HR : 128bpm – 74% Zone 1 – 20% Zone 2 – Zone 3 & 4 – 2%
Calories burned : 6,137
Hydration : 7.5ltrs of water /electrolytes
Things not captured in the numbers:
The months of training.
The amount of cake consumed on training rides.
The support crew.
The laughs.
The doubts.
The aching legs during the training.
And the feeling of getting to the finish line and seeing the sunset sky – knowing I had made it.
www.vanessapt.com 