BCA Members Linn Erixon-Sahlstrom and Shelley Davies are proud to be supporting the world-class endurance athlete and pro ocean racer, Pip Hare, as she takes on the Vendée Globe 2020 challenge.
Poole-based Pip is currently preparing for the Vendée Globe around-the-world race, which is undoubtedly one of the toughest sporting challenges out there, often referred to as ‘the Everest of the seas’. It is a solo race circumnavigating the globe, with no external help, and you can’t stop until you cross the finish line. It is one of the most brutal tests of human endurance imaginable, covering 24,000 miles, three oceans and often lasting for more than three months.
Just 89 people have ever completed the Vendée Globe. To put that into context, more people have been to space and of those 89 finishers just five have been women; Pip’s goal is to be the sixth. She’s also adding to the challenge an attempt to beat Dame Ellen MacArthur’s current record of 94 days.
The duo from Davies Chiropractic will be helping Pip in her build-up to the race with a tailor-made treatment plan, including a conditioning fitness regime to get her strong enough for the gruelling challenge ahead. As chiropractors, they will be working with Pip’s team to help her not only get to the start line but hopefully to cross the finish line.
Pip said, “I invited the Davies team to come and have a look around the boat so they could fully understand what I would be putting my body through during the Vendée Globe. Already Linn and Shelley have given me exercises to help strengthen my right side and with so much of my focus being on getting my boat as strong and reliable as possible it’s great to put the preparation of my body into the hands of a couple of experts who really get it.”
The partnership with Pip has been the result of the enthusiasm and dedication of BCA member Linn Erixon-Sahlstrom of Davies Chiropractic. As an endurance runner herself, she found the lure to be involved with such a gruelling challenge too good an opportunity to pass up. She commented, “We love a bit of madness and we believe in the untapped human potential. When we heard about Pip’s amazing campaign and adventure, we just knew this was something we wanted to offer our support to. Anyone who inspires people to get moving, to get out of their comfort zone and to do what seems to be impossible is something we embrace. As musculoskeletal specialists and endurance athletes ourselves, we have an understanding of the physical and mental preparation that is required for such a mammoth task. With a tailor-made plan of treatment with specifically designed exercises, we hope to facilitate Pip’s job to, first of all, get to the start line, but also being able to offer her support once at sea.”
Pip is using crowdfunding and business syndicate memberships in her Vendée Globe campaign, rather than one big sponsorship, an unconventional way to raise funds in the sailing world. It gives small businesses an opportunity to get on board with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, great for a chiropractic practice.
