Moray's Sports Personality of the Year on top of the world after 78 ascents of Califer Hill in 'Everesting' feat
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MORAY'S Sports Personality of the Year title-holder has earned a place in the "Everesting" hall of fame – after cycling a grinding 78 ascents of a local hill in one day this week.
Steve Sharpe, from Forres, only decided on Sunday, September 27, that he would go for the Everesting attempt the next day.
He got word round his fellow Forres Cycling Club members, some of whom turned out to accompany him on stints up and down nearby Califer Hill.
Although 77 ascents of the hill were required to reach the 8,848-metre equivalent height of Everest, Steve pedalled up a 78th time, "just for good luck".
The global Everesting movement sees challengers pick a hill and complete repeats of it in a single activity until they climb the equivalent height of the mountain. Nearly 12,000 people around the world have now conquered Everesting.
The 46-year-old – who took no part in any sport until 2016 when he started jogging to burn off Christmas excess – spent 14 and a half hours in the saddle during the personal challenge, burning up 8000 calories.
The morning after Steve described the feat as a "fabulous journey of mind, body and spirit". He said: "I feel great in mind and spirit today. The body is not too bad – I can walk."
He added: "I was up for failing beforehand – but I was determined.
"When I hit 65 ascents I knew I was going to do it."
The possibility of undertaking the cycle had been at the back of Steve's mind for a couple of months – but he was focused instead on training for the Run Scotland Rannoch Marathon this October. The call-off on Friday, September 25, of the event was all the push he needed to put his Everesting idea into action.
Steve, a drumming instructor who teaches at local schools, was well-prepped and raring to go thanks to his monthly training regime involving around 50 hours each of running, swimming and cycling.
He said of the ride: "It was incredible and it was such an interesting experience in terms of how I experienced the pain.
"Some points were so hard I really thought 'I can't do this', then a moment later I was thinking 'this is an absolute blast, I'm having so much fun'. I felt great one minute, terrible the next.
"But the overarching feeling was amazing. It was purely mind over matter.
"I think I paced the effort perfectly, keeping to the same speed every single lap."
With an average hill gradient of 9.5 per cent, steeper in some parts, Steve took 16 hours and 20 minutes overall, including breaks, to hit the target.
In 2018, the triathlete qualified to represent Great Britain, winning a silver medal at the European Middle Distance Triathlon Championships in Romania.
Steve, who moved to Forres from Sheffield 11 years ago, was named sportMoray's Sports Personality of the Year last November, when he also picked up the veteran sports athlete award.
