70 Wild Miles; A charity triathlon in aid of CLIC Sargent

Caring for Children with Cancer.

From the Sunday Mail      TRI HARD May 26 2002     Steve Hendry Exclusive

BBC Jackie gets physical on an incredible 70-mile run, cycle and canoe for cancer victims

SLEEK and polished, Jackie Bird never has a hair or a vowel out of place as anchorwoman for BBC's Reporting Scotland. But in her spare time, Jackie has been getting hot, wet and sweaty, not to mention down and dirty. The mother-of-two is under starter's orders to take part in 70 Wild Miles, a triathlon in which she will cycle 47 miles, canoe 10 miles and run - uphill - 13 miles. 

The race, on June 8, is in aid of Cancer Research, but good cause or not, no-one, least of all Jackie, will be surprised if it brings her to her knees. She said: "I wasn't well a couple of weeks ago and I asked the doctor if I would still be able to do the race. When she said yes, I almost started to weep. I was really holding out for a doctor's line. "It's not about racing, it's about the endurance of it all. It could take anything from four hours to 12 and beyond. One friend has already asked me if I've got lights for my bike and night vision goggles. It's going to be a long day. "My daughter, Claudia, said to me, 'Mummy, are you going to win this race?' She hasn't quite grasped it yet - I'll be happy to survive. "I'm not joking. Last year, the weather was so bad, one girl's canoe capsized five times until a guy told her, 'Right, doll, time to call it a day.' I just want to finish." 

The strength-sapping race takes place amid the bleak and brooding terrain of Glencoe. Beginning at White Corries ski centre, the competitors will cycle through Bridge of Orchy, Tyndrum and Taynuilt before they swap bikes for boats to brave the formidable waves of Loch Etive. Once they are all paddled out, it's a run uphill on a single-track road back to the beginning. 

The 39-year-old newsreader got involved in 70 Wild Miles after presenting Arctic Challenge for the BBC last year, when she followed Scots athletes battling blizzards and rival teams in an adventure challenge in Greenland. 

She couldn't say no when Serena Micalizzi - the girlfriend of one of the team - asked her to take part in 70 Wild Miles. It seemed like a good idea at the time, although that might have had something to do with one drink too many over the festive season. 

She said: "I got friendly with Serena, but little did I know that, through her pestering, I would be doing something just as daft. "Basically, Arctic Challenge was a bunch of lunatics doing all sorts of really ridiculous things. "Some of them are coming to see me in action because, after they'd run 50 miles, there was this stupid woman - me - sticking a microphone under their nose and asking, "How do you feel?' They can't wait to ask me the same thing." In getting in shape for the race, Jackie has also had to fit in her roles as a mother of two and high-profile presenter. It hasn't been easy and she's had to rely on her parents to help her squeeze everything in. She said: "Any woman who has a job and pastimes will know the terrible juggling that goes on. Add in something like this and you've got a recipe for the kids being taken into care. My parents have helped a lot. My kids now think it's normal to be out for a drive somewhere very remote with my parents and, along the way, stop and pick up mummy." 

Jackie's training regime is worthy of a professional. She has always been fit and did her first triathlon the year before Claudia, 9, was born. She joked: "I keep telling her, 'I could have been an Olympic athlete, but you stopped me." 

She swims and has run half-marathons for years - but even Jackie had to up her schedule. 

She said: "I do keep fit but not enough.This is a different ball game. The training's killing me. When you have a job, it's very difficult to say, 'Right, I'm just off for a five-hour cycle, bye.' "It's not unusual for me to start at 5am and head out to the wilds for a cycle, a canoe, then get back for lunchtime to start the late shift. So anyone watching telly at 10pm, thinking 'that girl doesn't look well', is right - I'm not well. "I didn't realise it would be so all-consuming - or horrible. "I've found cycling hardest. I'm not a cyclist and they use different muscle groups. They have fantastic, great big quads, whereas I'm quite gangly. I'm loving the canoe, but everyone says if anything's going to kill me, it's going to be that." 

Her training diet is "pasta, pasta and more pasta", although she's also tucking into Soreen Malt Loaf - "high in carbohydrates, low in fat - fantastic." 

She has the support of colleagues at the BBC and has even persuaded four of them to join her in competing. She said: "We help each other but it's starting to affect us. Rather than coming in and saying, 'What's happening at the Scottish Executive? What's Jack McConnell saying today?', I walk into the newsroom and my producer is like, 'How did you do today?' "Thirteen miles. You? "'I was out in the canoe.' "It began as a laugh but there's a little bit of rivalry creeping in now - somebody's been going out for night-time training sessions with the Marines and not telling us. "We are all really helping each other. I'll probably bust a gut trying to keep up with them because they are all young, fit guys." 

Given Jackie's sleek TV image, you might think her humour will be tested if she's pictured literally dragging herself over the finish line. But when you're an athlete, there's no place for vanity. Jackie said: "I do races in the centre of Glasgow and I look like I've been dug up. "The last half-marathon I did was in Helensburgh and somebody was doing a commentary over the tannoy when suddenly it was, 'And there's Jackie Bird, looking nothing like she looks on the television.' But I don't mind. "Hopefully, I'll raise a pile of money for charity. "If there's anyone out there who wishes to contribute, please get in touch. I'll wear logos, badges, anything."

Anyone who wishes to make a donation or sponsor Jackie should write to her at c/o BBC Scotland, Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow G12 8DG. 

Make cheques payable to 70 Wild Miles.