Earlier this month, something remarkable was achieved on Jersey soil, as Oliver Kidman reports…
LOCAL sporting hero Ben Gurney achieved an astonishing feat of rowing 100km indoors at Carrefour gym to close out his 2025 in style, smashing the British record and ranking second in the world while raising money for Family First Jersey.
The Caesarean smashed all expectations to make for a great success, surpassing the original fundraising goal of £500 to raise an astronomical amount of £1,445 while clocking up a time of 6 hours, 57 minutes and 53 seconds to achieve his goal of completing the row in under seven hours.
It wasn’t just a case of showing up and hoping for the best on the day, as Gurney undertook a lengthy training programme leading up to the momentous challenge, showing great discipline and commitment to put in around 15 hours a week towards this goal.
“I trained for about 20 weeks, which was tough as I was also training for the British Indoor Rowing Championships and an Ironman. There were a lot of lonely sessions, with loads of sweat and tears along the way, but I was very motivated,” said Gurney.
“There were some dark times where you question yourself, but it’s great to have a plan and I surrounded myself with good people who’ve been in similar situations, so I could have honest conversations and get support whenever I needed it.
“I rowed three times per week, as well as completing five/six hours of my other training sessions, so that comes out to about 15 hours of training a week. It was a long graft, but I love the grind and I was keen to see if I could actually do it.”
Following such a disciplined training regimen takes an immense amount of motivation, which Gurney has plenty of: “I just absolutely love the grind, I’m always wanting to see how far I can push myself to achieve these physical tests. Since completing an Ironman earlier this year, I wasn’t able to run but still wanted to push my body, so I began with the rowing.
“I had cancer a couple years ago which put me in a really bad place, so that’s really added fuel to the fire. Now, I feel as if I’m taking control of my body and getting ever closer to what I was before.
“Exercise and fitness is so important to me, as it’s something that has always been a huge part of my life and helps me stay a better person. It’s built real resilience for me and I just absolutely love pushing myself to the limit.”
After all the build-up and preparation, it was finally time to face the daunting task on 12 December, with the Islander continuing to detail how the row went: “The row got off to a great start, the first 50km were fantastic and I was smashing the time, as I was 10 minutes ahead of my 50km time in prior training sessions.
“However, I hit a bit of a wall between 60 – 70km, so much so that I needed a bit of space from everyone to really push through that difficult stretch. 70 – 90km was a real slog, but then I was all pumped up to take on the final 10km as the adrenaline really kicked in, allowing me to finish strong.
“I just stuck to the gameplan, even during the difficult times as I was nursing an injury to my right hip throughout which definitely impacted my performance, and I’m very proud of the effort I’ve put in.”
Although the 100km row is obviously a serious physical test, it also proved to be a huge mental challenge, as Gurney continued: “On the day, I have to say it was more of a mental battle, with many obstacles to overcome. I just had to suck it up, get to work and carry on, and having my friends and family there to support me was a great help.”
The charitable aspect also added further motivation, and Gurney was incredibly grateful for all the donations and support he received throughout: “I decided to do this in aid of Family First Jersey after seeing the benefits of their work first-hand. A friend of mine had to go to Southampton for a medical situation, and this charity really helped and supported him through that difficult time.
“I had my phone set up so I could see all the donations as they came in, which really was ammo for me to keep going and definitely lifted spirits. I know the Christmas period means that asking for money can be a bit sticky, so I am very grateful to everyone who chipped in and contributed.”
After overcoming this huge task, Gurney isn’t ready to rest on his laurels just yet, as he’s eager to keep pushing himself heading into 2026.
“2026 is going to be a massive year, with loads of grinding away and seeing how much further I can push myself. I have my eye on CrossFit competitions, Ironmans and half marathons, as well as challenges such as completing marathons on the Row, Bike and Ski machines all in a single day.”
The donation page is still live, so if you’d like to contribute, then please look at ‘Benji Rows’ Fundraising Page on jerseygiving.je.
