On Monday evening in Main Hall, one of Britain’s leading athletes gave a presentation as part of Cultural Hour. Captain Tom Evans stunned the ultra-marathon world in 2017 when he came third in the Marathon Des Sables – judged by many to be “the toughest race on earth”.
The Marathon Des Sables (The Marathon of the Sands) is an extreme endurance event in which competitors complete 250km in the desert. No man in Britain has ever bettered Tom’s performance. A previous best performance by a British competitor was by the double Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell who came 12th in 2010.
What made Captain Tom Evans’s performance so extraordinary was that he was an unknown amateur at the time.
“Listening to Captain Tom Evans present his methods of achieving his goals was really inspiring,” said Madeleine Luckyn-Malone (W).
“It helped me understand that you can do anything you want, if you have the right mindset and positivity. I learnt that success is something that comes with time, effort and dedication and no one should be afraid to experiment with something new.”
Tom has since turned professional and has subsequently won major ultra-marathon events in 2018 including The Costa Rica Coastal Challenge – in which he broke the world record – and just two weeks ago he won the CCC (a race up and around Mount Blanc) (pictured above). He is now preparing for a second assault on the Marathon des Sables.
Tom explained to pupils what it takes to be one the fittest athletes in the world: how he trains, eats and recovers – and how he mentally prepares.
Tom’s diet proved to be of special interest to at least one member of Lower Sixth. “Listening to what Captain Tom Evans has achieved in his career already was truly inspiring,” reflected Lewis Brown (P). “I was most surprised by his training diet when he told us he could eat absolutely anything he wanted!”
This talk was of interest to anyone wanting to learn about personal fitness and mental resilience. It also was of interest to anyone considering a career in the forces as Tom attributes much of his success to the support and training he received from the Welsh Guards.
Our thanks to Captain Tom Evans for a truly inspiring Cultural Hour.
