Oxford man cycles from Anfield to Kassam for Sobell House

Mark Temple, a bus driver with Oxford Bus Company, rode in 10 hours and five minutes, raising funds for Sobell House, which provided end-of-life care for his father and grandmother-in-law.

He began the challenge at Anfield, the Liverpool FC stadium, shortly after 4am on Sunday, June 14, and finished at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.

Mr Temple said: “It felt right to start at Anfield, and I got goosebumps as I’m a massive Liverpool fan.

“It made me a bit nervous as there’s just something special about Anfield. The weather was beautiful and the conditions were perfect.”

He said during the first 10 miles, he was ‘a little bit nervous’, too eager and not concentrating on the plan.

Adding: “But then I started taking in the scenery and enjoying the culmination of eight months of preparation.

“My only real physical struggle was when I got to Chipping Norton and was faced with a couple of huge hills, and I started to have a little bit of self-doubt, but as soon as I saw the signs for Woodstock, it was like I had new legs.

“Normally I’m quite muted when I complete these challenges, but there was an explosion of emotions.

“I picked up my bike and lifted it above my head. My brother was in tears and I just sort of let go.”

Mr Temple was supported throughout his eight months of training by Oxford Bus Company driver Terry Brackett, Michael Stopp from Thames Travel, and his brother Justin Temple.

He said: “Throughout this whole thing, Terry has been a superstar.

“He gave me my training plan and listened to all my moaning, telling me when I was doing too much or too little training.

“My brother worked tirelessly on the map and refined it a couple of days before we started, making little tweaks that made a big difference.

“My support team was always within a mile of me, giving me instructions, shoving food in my face and getting me drinks.”

Sobell House, based in Oxfordshire, offers specialist palliative and end-of-life care to adults with life-limiting illnesses and support for their families.

Mark said: “Sobell was my only motivation throughout, and we tweaked the cycle route so we could stop there and at the Oxford Bus Company depot.”

Beth Marsh, director of fundraising at Sobell House, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Mark for taking on such an extraordinary challenge in support of Sobell House.”