IN FOCUSBIG INTERVIEW
amesGoldingdoesn’t
looklikeyourtypical
clean-cutbikerider.In
asportwheretheelite
operatorstendtobe
whip-thinandsmall
boned–thinkBradley
WigginsorChris
Froome–Goldingstands6ft4,withbroad
shouldersandhandslikeanavvy.Viewed
shirtless,hisabdomenisenoughofamess
to bealittledisquieting.Thepuncture
woundsdottinghisribs,bellyandarmsare
complementedbytwolargescars–one
circularanddark,theotherlongandjagged- stretchingfrombelowhisnaveltojust
beneathhissternum.
Athoughtfultalkerandfrequentsmiler,the
ultra-endurancespecialistmakesforpleasant
company.Yetincommonwithmanyathletes
whopushthelimitsofhumancapability,he
showshintsofdarkness,too.Theoddfrown,
apiercinggaze–it’sprettyobviousthatJames
Goldinghasseensomeshit.
FromRugby,inTheMidlands,Golding
isuniqueintheworldofcompetitiveultra-
endurancecycling.Notonlyishethecurrent
seven-daydistanceworldrecordholder,
managing1,766milesinaweek(over 250
milesperday)inJune2017;heisalsoa
walking,ridingmiracle.
Elevenyearsago,attheageof28,he
J
wasdiagnosedwithaveryrareabdominal
cancer.Thetumoureventuallyswelledto
enormousproportions,withadiameterof
11.5cmatitspeak.Goldingpulledthrough
andtookupcyclingforcatharsis,onlyto
suffertheheartbreakofrelapsein2011.
Butwiththeyearsofsurgeryandchemo
nowthankfullyleftbehind,hissightsare
setontheinfamousRaceAcrossAmerica
(knownasRAAM).Men’sFitnesscaughtup
withGoldingafewdaysafterhecompleted
RaceAcrosstheWest,oneofRAAM’s
qualifyingevents.Golding in action during
Race Across the West"The odd frown, a
piercing gaze –
it's pretty obvious
that James
Golding has seen
some shit"“Cancer came along and just blew all
that crap out of the water. I realised how
absolutely none of it mattered”