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Be it long-distance
running, rally-driving or transatlantic rowing, Plymouth athlete Paul
White is always keeping himself occupied.
The 45-year-old from Elburton is preparing for three massive challenges
in the coming months, starting with the Great North Run on September 21.
He then plans to drive through France, Tunisia and Italy in the World
Cup Rally before guiding a four-man rowing team
in a world record attempt.
Paul, an independent financial adviser, said: "Endurance sports are the
thing of the millennium, and a lot of people are starting to do them,
which is great."
Paul will be joined by his friend Mike Hallam for the Great North Run
this month - but their athletic backgrounds couldn't be more different.
While Paul has achieved considerable success in triathlons in the past,
Mike, who works for DML, weighed 21 stone only 18 months ago and has
just slimmed down to 14 stone.
During that period, the pair have twice completed the Plymouth
half-marathon.
"Mike's aim for the first one was to not walk and to enjoy it, and he
achieved both," said Paul.
"It's made him a bit of a celebrity in the dockyard. He's made a lot of
people realise that they can achieve things like this."
Joining the pair on the start line will be Paul's 10-year-old son Ian,
who is tackling the four-kilometre Junior Great North Run course.
Just a week later, Paul will co-drive with Britain's top female rally
driver, Sophie Robinson, in the World Cup Rally.
Starting in central France, he is set to drive in stages used by the
Monte Carlo and Paris-Dakar rally events.
The rally then takes in stages in the Sahara Desert before its
conclusion on October 8.
Paul said: "I used to help Andy Burnell, a local driver, in the British
Rally Championship a few years ago.
"Then I decided to move from running the team to competing in the sport
myself.
"I competed in the Sahara Rally in 2001, but I still hope to do some
driver management later on."
Paul's management skills will be tested to the
full in the New Year, when he aims to help a rowing crew achieve a world
record.
The team, including former Plymouth Albion rugby player Jason Hart,
hopes to become the first four-man crew to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
The quartet set off from the Canary Islands on January 20, planning to
arrive in Barbados.
Paul said: "To become the first team ever to cross the Atlantic as a
four-man crew would be a wonderful achievement."
In the meantime, however, training for the Great North Run is the
priority for Paul and Mike.
Mike, who will be running for the Leukaemia Research Fund, said: "I've
joined the Plymstock Roadrunners Club and Paul and I are still training
three times a week.
"Fortunately, our families have been very tolerant, bearing in mind the
time it takes." |
