AN SAS wife has taken the regiment’s famous ‘who dares wins’ slogan to heart as she gears up to beat a demanding challenge to mark her 80th birthday

Last year, as Maggie Matthews contemplated the reality of turning 79 and having to undergo a knee replacement surgery, she decided to challenge herself to complete 800,000 steps, swim 80,000 metres and cycle 800 kilometres, all in time for her 80th birthday this month.

ALSO READ:

Once Mrs Matthews has completed her 800,000 steps, now set at 1,000,000, she will have walked the equivalent of a journey from Hereford to London and back again. Her 80,000-meter swim works out to be 3,200 lengths of Hereford HALO Swimming Pool, the equivalent to swimming the English Channel and back again. The 800-kilometre bike ride, the same distance from Hereford to the Champagne region in France, has helped her recover from her knee replacement surgery, she says. Overall, Mrs Matthews will have travelled over 1000 miles upon completion of the challenge.

Mrs Matthews, who moved to Hereford in 1960 to marry an SAS soldier, has supported various local charities during her time in county and has decided to use her challenge to raise funds and awareness for Carers for Herefordshire, Home-start Herefordshire and Herefordshire Mind. So far, she has already raised over £600.

Her 80th birthday challenge is due to finish on August 18 from 9.30am at the Hereford Leisure Pool café, giving supporters a chance to see Mrs Matthews finish the final few kilometres of her bike ride.