Men’s Fitness UK – October 2019

Men’s Fitness Ultra-endurance sport hinges on dealing

with pain and it’s a common theory that many ultra

athletes have a history of trauma that allows them to

withstand it. To what extent did your experience with

cancer provide the motivation for what you do now?

James Golding “Cancer really made me re-evaluate my

priorities and start again. It’s a cliché but it was almost like

being reborn. At my lowest ebb, all I could do was wiggle

my toes. Basic skills such as walking and feeding myself took

time to come back. I had to re-learn them. After I came

home, the cycling was just a form of exercise to begin with.

I wasdowntosixstoneand

soweak,butI wantedto

dosomething.So,I took

a friend’sbiketoa local

reservoircalledDraycote

Waterandrodearoundit,

whichis aboutvemiles.It

wasunbelievablyexhausting.

I hadtoliedownforanhour

inthecarbeforedriving

home,butit mademefeel

goodpsychologically,soI wentbacka few

dayslateranddidit again.Beforelong

I rodetwolaps,thenthree.It becamea

compulsionandovertimemycycling

developed.Asit did,I hitontheideaof

using it to raise money for Macmillan

Cancer Support. I did the Caledonia

Etape (90 miles) then the Haute Route in

France (500 miles), then John O’Groats

to Lands End (874 miles). Everything

went from there. A lot of my rides have

been fundraisers, and so far I’ve been

able to donate more than £3 million. In

that sense, my experience with cancer

has provided a very direct motivation

for everything I do. I really want to

give something back to the people and

organisations who saved my life.”

MF It seems remarkable that you took up cycling relatively

late in life but have managed to go so far in the sport. Did

you also have an interest in riding prior to your illness?

JG “I did, but not in a serious

way. I was very into mountain

biking as a kid and rode

competitively in a number of

events.  roughout my life, other

than when I was ill, I’ve always

been  t and physical. I got into

the gym in my teens and early

twenties, getting ‘shredded’ and

making ‘gains’ as so many young

mendo.Butin truth,forthe last few years before cancer, my life

wasverydierentto howit is now. I worked as a land and estate

agent.Everythingwasmoney, money, money:  ash suits, nice

cars,Tagwatches,allthatsort of thing. I had a group of friends

whowerealllad-about-town hedonists. I suppose I was a typical

youngguy,drinking,doing the odd illegal substance, partying

and messing about. I had

relationship problems, too,

which got really heavy.  en

cancer came along and just

blew all that crap out of the

water. I realised how absolutely

none of it mattered.”

MF So obviously the cancer

element is a huge part of

your story. A turning point

inmanyways.Exactlyhow bad was it? Did you fear that

youwoulddie?

JG“Yes,it wasdenitely a turning point. Lance Armstrong,

beforehisfallfromgrace, used to say that cancer was the

bestthingthateverhappened to him and I know what he

meantbythat.Cancercleared the way for me to live as I

donow.Butobviouslyat the time it was a hideous ordeal,

andfromthemedicalside the truth is that death wasn’t just

possible,it wasprobable.  e doctors and nurses maintain

a bedsidemanner,soI was kept blissfully unaware, but I

learnedlaterthatat onepoint, after diagnostic tests, I only

All night long: there's no rest for the

wicked when covering thousands of miles

True grit: ultra-endurance bike races
require super-human strength of character