Episode 5 The Clare Balding Show

Thank you very much, thank you. Hello and welcome to the show.

Thank you very much, thank you. hope that your New Year resolutions

are still intact. A lot of budding new sports stars running out of

energy towards the end of January but we are here to strengthen your

resolve and feel youthful energy because all of my guests had pushed

the limits of human endurance. One of Britain pots best loved comedians

will tell me why she is doing a sponsored walk in seven days, it is

Jo Brand! He is -- a daring young adventurer who has single-handedly

wrote, kayaked and cycled around the world, Sarah Outen is here. And he

is a superstar gymnast who has won a stack of major medals including gold

at the 2015 World Championships. Completing our line-up, it is Max

Whitlock. Let's catch up with my guests, who know all about tackling

great sporting challenges and defying the odds. At 23 Max Whitlock

has amassed a stunning 21 major medals and his rectory on the pommel

horse made him the first British man to win gold at the World Gymnastics

Championships. The next great challenge in his career is the Rio

Olympics. Sarah Outen has just completed an historic round the

world expedition in her quest she covered deserts and conquered

subzero temperatures on a bicycle and spent months and months and

months alone on the ocean, rowing phenomenal distances. One of

Britain's best loved comedians is training for her adventure, Jo

Brand's One Hell of a Walk is walking a marathon every day for a

week, crossing the country in aid of Sport Relief. All of my guests know

about aiming high, and trying to beat the odds. Please welcome Max

Whitlock, Sarah Outen and Jo Brand. Three fine athletes we have never

had on the sofa and I know, Jo Brand, you have been waiting your

whole life to be introduced as an athlete. I have and can I say that I

barely got up those stairs! So what is going to happen with your

challenge, it is called One Hell of a Walk? It is quite a long walk. It

is for Sport Relief. When I was told, asked to do the challenge, I

thought a hell of a walk for me is going to the shop, so I agreed and

then I found out it is from Hull, deliverable. And not a bus in sight

-- to Liverpool. I'm doing it over seven days which is roughly a

marathon a day. If you had said that before, I would have said I could do

17, but they are called Snickers now. Are you a keen walker? No, not

really. Are you getting keener as the training goes on? Less! I like

walking, actually, about a mile. You are going to get a lot of good

advice on the fitness side and also taking an epic journeys. Sarah Outen

has been rowing, kayaking and cycling around the world, which is

amazing, isn't it? APPLAUSE

Why? Basically because I wanted a big adventure. A few years ago I

wrote over the Indian Ocean from Australia to Mauritius and I loved

it, I was empowered by the idea that you can pull off a big adventure

like that and I was excited by the idea that you can do more. You

weren't being pursued for debts or anything? No! Even though she wasn't

walking or running, it has played havoc with her feet. You don't wear

shoes, do you? I do if I'm going outside but generally inside I like

to be bare feet, I feel grounded. You should have a go! I really like

barefoot walking outside. I might do that. My plan is to do about a mile

and a half and then roll down the side of the motorway, hit my head on

a rock, hospital, sorry! Do you think that will work? It reinvents

the phrase, preparing to fail. You are actually preparing to fail.

Somebody has to fail eight Sport Relief challenge and it has to be

me. I don't agree, I can see where you're coming from. Max Whitlock,

only be world champion the pommel horse.

APPLAUSE -- the world champion. When you

arrived in Glasgow, did you think before you started, before the

competition, that you could win it, that you should win it? You can be

rarely arrogant if you like! As an athlete you have to be ambitious,

you can always hope for it but you never expect it. I personally never

go into competition thinking about medals, I hope to do my job, that's

what I train for. In the gym, six days a week, 35 hours a week,

practising routines. I want to go to the competition and do another one.

How many hours a day? 6-7 hours a day. Six or seven? I'm in there for

11! Shall we have a look at his medal winning routine? Can you tell

us what you are thinking. This is my 20th routine of the week, I was

quite tired. I just had to push through and focus for the last one.

My favourite one, the biggest one, obviously. The crazy story is that

me and my coach walked through the tunnel just before and changed my

routine. Which bits did you change? One of the moves at the beginning, I

did an extra move which increased my start by one tenth. Good pointing of

your toes, can I say. It is near the end and at this point you just want

to stay on and finish it well. I managed to do it. The margin I

traced the routine by was the margin I won buy, so we are quite happy

with the decision. APPLAUSE

You put your arms in the air and then you have to wait, almost longer

than the routine takes, to get the marks. Yeah. During that time,

what's going through your head? I was so overwhelmed by the

atmosphere, being part of the crowd was amazing. Me and my coach were

pleased to make it and then I thought, I'd better look at the

scores. Louis had a massive 16. Louis Smith, who is your team-mate

and your friend. He has done a brilliant routine, you know it is a

massive score. From then on, for us to... We were both happy and we

hoped we could be first and second and we did. That's a big statement

for Team GB. Really proud. So what's made the difference? London 2012,

the first gymnastics team medals in 100 years, was it, for the men? I'm

a big believer that success breeds success. You have Louis and Dan

Keating 's and Beth Tweddle, by the guys who got ball rolling. That's

what I'm hoping to do. We are a neighbourly in place. We have great

funding, great facilities, great coaching. We couldn't ask for more,

we are doing our jobs and hopefully it can inspire others. Jo, this is

the effect you may have, watching from Hull, to Liverpool. Can I say

that it's highly unlikely but I'll do my best. I'm rather hoping to

encourage women like me, fat and lazy. I think there's something to

be said for walking as a group enterprise. I've been walking with

friends of mine who I've known for years and we've had a really nice

day. We've walked 12, 13 miles without even realising it. And

people tell you anything when you are walking because you are not

looking at it each other all the time, try it. I

was surprised to learn that one of them was having an affair with my

husband! What aspects of the walk are you worried about? Incontinence.

It is an issue, isn't it? Obviously there isn't going to be those... You

know, toilets like to get at festivals at two yard intervals,

which is what I normally need. So that is an issue. And cameras

following year. And crying is an issue -- following you. I know that

they will want me to cry at some point and say that I can't go on,

they want me to do that and I'm determined to cry. When did you last

cry? Probably about 1958. It's not going to happen, is it? Did you cry,

Sarah, during your expedition? From time to time I cried, quite a lot on

the Atlantic. It was really tough, I was basically going nowhere and I

wanted to be home as well. The journey was taking longer than I

thought it would do. How long was it meant to take? We thought it would

take much romance and I was at sea for 143 days and I only made it two

thirds of the way across -- take four months. I was passed by a ship

ahead of a hurricane, and it is not a good idea to be in a small boat

during a hurricane. The boat came over the top of me. I cried a lot

when I saw my little boat being cut-off into the distance. Because

it has a name and everything. She is called happy socks. It is like she

is the other half of my team, my friend. We got a sighting update:

she is 500 miles away at the moment, making her way this way, we hope.

There is a chance we may get her back. So she might finish the

journey on her own? She might do, she doesn't need a roller. -- a

rower. We can look at one of your emotional moments. I have just lost

Happy Socks. See is my team-mate, it is like abandoning her. I'm happy to

be alive but I am gutted that I have lost her. I should say that this is

just after she had been rescued, her life has been saved. You weren't

overjoyed, though. If you were not picked up, what were your chances of

survival? There was a crew on the tanker ship, a crew of 35, they were

lost in the Bahamas just the day before that in the same hurricane

system,... Width a little rowing boat, no chance. You don't want to

take risks you don't need to. The last section was meant to take a

certain amount of time. The whole adventure was how far? 25,000 miles

covered. And how long were you anticipating it would take? Two and

a half years but it ended up taking four and a half because the weather

got in the way. This does not go into as enough detail but you set

off from London, going across Europe and Russia. I kayaked and cycled

across, through France and Europe and Asia, to the far east of Russia

and then I kayaked and cycled down to Japan and I rowed across the

Pacific which took two temps because a typhoon got in the way of the

first attempt and I was rescued after 28 days -- two attempts. I got

to the Aleutian Islands, a chain of islands going out from mainland

Alaska. I came home and trained for the next part, kayaking 2500 miles

up to the nearest road and then I cycled across North America, in

winter, to arrive on the east coast in the spring and I came across the

Atlantic, two thirds of the way before being picked up ahead of the

hurricane. We finished up in London under the Tower Bridge, cycling and

kayaking to really round off the journey. Bring -- bringing everybody

together who had helped. The strange thing about this is that you have a

great fear, don't you? What is it? I think people are supplied when I say

that I'm scared of deep water. It is different if you are on a boat, but

if I'm in it, I get scared, much deeper than a bath, to be honest.

That is why I am scared of deepwater. Are you thinking of

wildlife you might encounter? No, I am not. How digital friends and

family react when you said you were doing this challenge. With laughter.

Have they been supporting new at all? Yes they have, they have been

on walks with me and that is quite supportive I suppose. They left me

behind because they are thin and very fit and I am like... I am

concerned we might be keeping you from your training. You are not. I

can reveal something that will happen now, which means I have to

expend calories. What do you want me to do? You are going to come with

me. O matron. Here we go. We bought this especially for you. What is

this? Press go. 321, I am off to the pub. If you go up in speed. It is

really hard. Do you want me to go faster? Yes. Perfect. What do you

think of her posture and general walking technique? Spot on. Are you

listening to anything when you walk? Or are you with nature and thinking

about your stride pattern? I am looking around me and waiting for

something dramatic to happen so I can intervene. Like a robbery or

something. Why? If I see a nun trying to nick someone's wallet, I

am in there. I feel like I am a local policewoman really. We have

guarding the community while I'm walking. Your imagination takes over

and gets you through the hours of training while you imagine things

that might happen? You might call it my imagination, others might call it

might emotional disturbance. Going up a hill? The macro I think not.

Why go out there hill when you do not absolutely have to do. You will

go over the Pennines? But that will be when I get to the Pennines. That

is quite steep, give it over to Max. Do you train with a coach or on your

own? I have got a coach. How is that going? He is lying at the bottom of

the Thames. What did he think you need to work on? He thinks I need to

work on being not fat and nearly dead. It is quite steep, there is an

emergency stop button if you need it. That is better. APPLAUSE

Hard, isn't it? It is hard. We can give your feet a rest now and go

back to the sofa. She is so unfit. Two look at me, and I am not even

over breathing, you have a little rest and I will carry on.

Have a mild blow. I feel good about that. I think Jo has an interesting

attitude for the challenge. How would you coach in terms of her

mental approach, day after day of extreme conditions, hurting and

needing to keep going? We were talking before we came in here to

night and Jo said that if she can forget about the day before because

her memory is not good and your sense of humour will stand you in

good stead. There is a lot of repetition, Max, you have to do your

routines over and over again. Max, don't feel you have to do. Talk to

me like you would talk to an elderly aunt who is a bit mad and is never

going to make it. I would say any advice, think about the end product.

Think about all of this training. A pint, a sausage roll. It could be,

whatever you want. If you finish and feel like you have accomplished

that, that is a good feeling to fight for. You are such a nice

person, I can't possibly live up to your openness, sweetness and

honesty. I am cynical, overweight old bag and honestly I am trying

really hard to get fired up in that way. It will be worth it. Will it?

It will be fun. Sporting challenges are becoming a habit, this is not

the first walk you have done, you have done some mad rally driving,

what was happening here? That is in my garden. That is the Maldon mud

race, you have to run 800 metres in mud which is this deep but what

happens, all of the very thin people run over it like little else first

and get in the lead and then the sad, fat old ones at the back tramp

through it and get stuck, I got stuck up to my waist and it is not

the mediating at all because some guy with a lass ooh pulls you out.

In terms of your mountains, you want people to support you. I would

really like them too and also to have a go at it themselves. Either

come and join me or just go down at the bottom of the Pennines where it

is nice and comfy. You can go to www. Sport Relief slash sponsored

Jo. It is for Sport Relief which has always been brilliant and provides a

range of charities for kids and adults in difficult conditions in

society. With some sort of hope and I think we all need that really. I

know our audience it a night and your guests would want to help, you

want to support her. I want to support you, this is to look after

your toes on the way, some plasters, you may need them. Thank you very

much indeed, have you got any food? Max, you would like to help and like

food. Ie To healthy because I do not go to different countries so I do

not know what the food will be like, that is the worst time to be worried

about what you want to eat at competitions in other countries,

when we went to China, I took a lot of food with me. If I think I went

to China I think I would have a Chinese. You never know what you

will get. I was given a sheep 's head in China, I had to eat the

nostril, it was not nice. I looked at the kayak and wondered how you

feed yourself, because you cannot cook on there. We use the kayak for

crossing between islands, the longest time I had to be in the

kayak was 19 hours. So you cannot get out of the boat, you are talking

about managing going to the toilet in the Pennines. I was with the

queen of C kayaking, and you put the boats together and you stand up in

your boat and put your foot on the back of their boat and wobbling a

bit in the waves and then you have to be between the boats ideally or

if you miss your boat, you want to get it on their boat. It can be a

bit tricky. Sounds very tricky. I try to wind the window down and get

a lorry. Max says you have to focus on the prize at the end, he thinks

of gold medals and you are thinking of what? Sitting down and not

walking any more, that is enough of a prize for me. Max is fit and

healthy but you have not been 100%, in 2015, you were really sick? It

was a tough start to the year, I had glandular fever. The toughest part

was not knowing what it was. I said to my mum and dad that I felt the

fittest I had ever been and looking forward to the Europeans but as the

competition started, I deteriorated and could not get through any

routine. I got a blood test and found it was glandular fever and it

was a blessing in disguise, if there is any time to get it, it would be

then, that is how I have thought about it because it gave me time to

recover and come back. When you talk about getting back into shape, for

some of us it is toes and knees but for him, it means looking like this.

O God. You are not even holding your tummy in there, are you? That is

you, relaxed? Yes. You might not think that Max Whitlock can take his

gymnastic ability anywhere but he can come he cannot just walk down

the stairs, no, he has to do this. That is crazy. APPLAUSE

I love it because what you are doing is popularising gymnastics and

showing that you can learn to do it, kids love that, they would love to

walk downstairs on their hands. I shouldn't, please don't do it right

now but I love it. I did try it at home. I wondered if we might talk

romance. Joan looks thrilled, Sarah, what did you do in the middle of the

ocean? I proposed to my girlfriend and got engaged. It was over the

satellite phone, I called her up and she said yes which was very

exciting. I then realised I did not have a ring so I drew arranged on my

finger until I got to the other side. How much time have you spent

together? We have spent a lot of time apart, but we have been

together for three years now. I can tell you now that in the future, you

will come to appreciate that. We had two months cycling together across

North America last winter, that was the point of the journey, where I

was not sure I wanted to carry on with it because I was sad we were

apart. First of all, she said I was not coming home until it was under

Tower Bridge so that was a clear answer. That is a euphemism. Is your

relationship more straightforward Max? I have been with my girlfriend

for eight years now. Am I right in thinking you have just moved in

together? I moved in after the Commonwealth Games. Is it all

planned around Commonwealth Games, Rio? Pretty much, yes. We will see.

Although you are the world champion, you still have to qualify? Yes, for

the World Championship is we qualified a five-man team but not

individual, now there are 15 boys in the squad who are fighting for five

places. You have this secret weapon if and when you get to the end used

the Whitlock, this is top secret but in general terms, what is it? For a

start, I have always dreams of having my own move in the code of

points which is where you have all of the elements and I would love to

see it in there one day. I would do it on my favourite piece, the pommel

horse, it would be a big move and it takes a very long time but hopefully

sometime in the future I can use it. We have seen you do some crazy

things but would you like to see him if he can do one little trick for

us? APPLAUSE Here is the challenge you are

facing, you are facing a fierce opponent, in goal, we have Jo, big

hands Brand and this is going to be a penalty taken in a way you have

never seen before, Sarah, if you could throw us a all come on my

whistle, are you ready? Everyone else, not him, are you ready Jo?

APPLAUSE Thank you to Max Whitlock, Jo Brand,

and Sarah out, we have reached the end of the show, we will see you

next week, good night.