E80: From Addiction to World Record Breaking Triathlons and Beyond with Andy Stone

Strong Voice Podcast

Life hasn’t been easy for Andy Stone. As someone who struggled with addictions, he knew that a big part of his future success of living without drugs or alcohol, he needed to distract himself with something that would challenge him and also keep him on a path to good health.

And so the ‘crazy’ idea of completing 70 Ironman 70.3 in 70 days was born.
To put it in context, an Ironman comprises 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle ending with a 13.1 mile run. Over 70 days and starting on Monday 4th April, Andy will:

84 miles of swimming (equivalent to 4x the English Channel)

3,920 miles of cycling (equivalent to cycling from Land’s End to John O’Graots 4.4 times!)

917 miles of running (equivalent to running from London to Edinburgh 2.3 times!)

This huge physical and mental endurance challenge that will see him swim, ride and run 5000miles in 70 days, the distance from London to China!

Is Andy insane? Yes… but in a healthy way. He’s using this epic world record attempt to build a supportive team around him and also build back his own inner support systems. Having previously batted with mental health as well as his alcohol addictions, this challenge means more to him than the potential of a world record.

As a PADI scuba diving instructor, Andy has a huge love of the ocean but has seen first-hand the impact that humans and over fishing is having on our marine life. That’s why through this challenge he’s raising money for ocean conservation charities the Blue Marine Foundation and the Shark Trust.

This isn’t the first challenge Andy’s taken on. Earlier this year Andy completed 17 consecutive sprint triathlons in 17 days, raising £1,300 for the Stroke Association in the process.