THE Guinness World Record for the most amount of people to row 500m each, in a 24-hour relay on one indoor rowing machine, was smashed in Frome last week when 678 rowers broke the record.
The previous record stood at 600 people and was held in America. Organised by local police sergeant, Rachel Clark and her brothers, Matthew and Daniel, to raise money for local charity We Hear You, the event looks to have raised in excess of £5,000, with a final total expected soon.
Speaking to Frome Times, Rachel said, “I am so overwhelmed. Not just by the world record, but overwhelmed by the community spirit that we saw over the two days – from people bringing us food donations, to people jumping onto the rower to help us keep up the momentum.
“We had over 600 people registered for the event, but on the day some people weren’t able to come, so we put a shout-out on social media for more rowers and we were soon inundated. Also, as people were rowing so quickly, we needed more people to keep us going!
“People clearly put their heart and soul into training as the rowing times were great, there were quite a few personal bests.
“The event went like clockwork. The two months of preparation work clearly paid off. There were a lot of comments about how well organised the event was, which is a great compliment for the team.
“The support team and I were up for 36 hours, from setting up the event right through to clearing up. But the adrenaline and determination got us through.
“I want to say a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone involved – we absolutely smashed it.”
The world record now awaits verification from Guinness, who will assess evidence submitted by the organisers.
The rowing challenge is one of many organised by the siblings, who now, including last week’s fundraiser, have raised over £24,000 for local causes since the death of their mother, Shirley Wiggins in 2011 from leukaemia. Previous challenges include climbing a 30ft fire ladder for 8 hours last year, and dragging a 10-tonne fire engine around Frome the year before.
Donations can still be made to the team’s fundraising page: www.virginmoneygiving.com/worldrecordrow