A BRADFORD teacher with a love for extreme physical challenges has become a world record holder in his latest endurance challenge.

Sam Boatwright, who lives in Skipton and used to teach at St Bede’s & St Joseph’s Catholic College in Heaton, broke the unofficial record for the furthest distance covered on a Wattbike in 24 hours at the weekend by 18 miles.

Mr Boatwright, 35, covered 488 miles on the stationary bike, beating the previous record of 470 miles, set by broadcaster and cyclist Mark Beaumont.

He undertook the challenge at Skipton Leisure Centre in aid of SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity, travelling at an average speed of almost 20 miles per hour, with an average heart rate of 131 beats per minute.

During the challenge he burnt a colossal 18,000 calories, lost 12lbs in bodyweight, and cycled the equivalent of Skipton to London and back, with a few laps of Skipton town centre tagged on at the end.

He completed the challenge on a Wattbike, a specific brand of stationary exercise bike used to measure an athlete’s power, technique and performance, and to replicate road cycling as closely as possible, and are used by scores of professional athletes across a wide range of sports.

This epic endurance challenge is the latest in a line of gruelling efforts Mr Boatwright has undertaken, such as running a marathon a day for 50 days, and a 3,000 mile coast-to-coast challenge running and cycling across the USA.

He has another challenge planned for later this year, when he is embarking on an ‘Epic Triathlon’ in July of swimming the English Channel, cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and finally running back to Land’s End from John O’Groats.

Throughout the challenge, staff from Skipton-based firm Rural Solutions were on hand to give Mr Boatwright help and support cycling alongside him during the 24 hours in the saddle, and also sponsored the effort, along with many other friends and supporters.

Mr Boatwright, who now teaches at Forest Moor School, said: “That was a brutal day on the bike, but I have beaten the previous record of 470 miles.

“It was great to get a message from Mark Beaumont saying well done, right at a time when I wanted to kick again and push right through the record.

“Thank you to everyone that came and supported me, to the guys that did 12 hour stretches, to the people that did 30 minutes, every single one of you got me through.

“What a brilliant last 24 hours it has been. There are too many people to say thank you to. I have to say thank you to my wife Kerry without who, I would probably still be laid on the gym floor in a pool of sweat. She fed me, watered me and generally made sure I didn’t die.”

Previous record holder Mark Beaumont also holds the world record for cycling 18,000 miles around the world in just 79 days.