This Christmas, four seasoned adventurers will exchange traditional festive comforts for one of the planet's most demanding physical challenges - a 3,000-nautical-mile row across the Atlantic Ocean to support charities tackling Motor Neurone Disease and other life-changing conditions.
The Ultimate Endurance Challenge
Dubbed The World's Toughest Row, this extraordinary expedition launches from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 12, 2025, with teams aiming to reach Antigua in the West Indies after 35 to 45 days of continuous rowing. This means the crew will spend both Christmas and New Year battling the elements in the open ocean.
The physical demands are almost unimaginable. Team members will confront waves reaching up to 20 feet high while enduring temperature extremes from 10°C during night watches to over 30°C with high humidity during daylight hours. Each rower will burn approximately 6,000 calories daily and is expected to lose between 12 and 20kg in body weight before sighting land.
Meet Team Seas Life
The courageous team undertaking this mammoth challenge, called Team Seas Life, brings together an impressive roster of endurance athletes. The crew consists of Stuart Kershaw from Crosby, alongside former England Rugby 7s captain and Guinness World Record holder Ollie Phillips. They're joined by fellow seasoned adventurers Julian Evans and Tom Clowes.
Remarkably, all four team members have previously summited Mount Everest. Kershaw's extraordinary endurance credentials include running seven marathons across seven continents in just seven days. He also completed three marathons on three different continents within 33 hours, before conquering Everest in 2022.
Rowing for Vital Causes
The team is fundraising for several charities that hold deep personal significance. Kershaw is raising money for The Matt Hampson Foundation, which supports young people seriously injured through sport. The foundation was established by former Leicester Tigers prop Matt Hampson, who was left paralysed from the neck down after a scrum collapsed.
Another key beneficiary is My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, established in honour of the late rugby legend Doddie Weir, who passed away in 2022 following his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis. The connection between neurological conditions like MND and sports injuries has become increasingly apparent, making this fundraising mission particularly poignant.
Additional organisations set to benefit from the challenge include:
- Cure Parkinson's
- The Clocktower Foundation
- Shiplake Primary School
Retired professional rugby player Ollie Phillips shared his perspective on the upcoming challenge: "This is going to be a superb challenge; I think probably the toughest thing that any of us have ever taken on before. But if we contrast that to some of the people that are impacted by the conditions that we're raising awareness and money for, then it pales into insignificance."
He continued: "Especially when you look at the mental fortitude of people like Matt Hampson, along with Lewis Moody, Ed Slater, Rob Burrows and Doddie Weir who have suffered, or continue to suffer, at the hands of Motor Neurone Disease."
Phillips added: "I am excited yet nervous about the whole experience, but then also grateful that I'm able to utilise my audience and community to do something extraordinary and to raise a lot of money for some incredible causes. That hopefully makes a massive impact when we get home."
By undertaking this extreme Atlantic crossing, Team Seas Life aims to raise both awareness and crucial funds for research and support services addressing Motor Neurone Disease and other devastating neurological conditions often linked to sports participation.
