Isaac Hay is almost halfway through his century of sporting challenges in a year for Panathlon, and has encountered an unexpected problem – he got so into one of the new activities he tried out, he’s picked up a knee injury from it.
Still, he’s not going to let that rugby knock stop him – next up is a duathlon, then an ultra marathon.
“It’s getting a lot harder physically,” he says, “but it’s still so enjoyable. What’s fun is that no matter where I’m at injury-wise or fitness-wise, I can find sports that work.
“We were looking at sports that I can do while I was injured. and we found an air hockey world championships, which was brilliant. So we went to London, we played air hockey!
“And there’s an axe-throwing world championships! I’ve just got to keep making sure I do at least two a week to achieve the targets.”
As a strength and conditioning coach with his company Hays Coaching, Hay often works with people low on confidence and who are nervous about trying new activities – and the thinking behind this challenge is to show there’s a sport or activity to suit everyone.
He’s particularly enjoyed trying out racquet sports – but not just for the competitive element.
“They’re so much fun, and the level of technical ability you need to get started in them isn’t too high,” he says. “So I recommend it to a lot of my families and the kids that I work with.”
Sports he’ll be trying out in the near future include netball, tag rugby and dodgeball – and even motor sport, where he’ll be taking his own car on track. He’s also getting some friends involved and trying out some relay races.
“The whole point of it is to show that no matter how good you are at sport and no matter where you are, you can get involved in almost anything,” he says.
To find out more about Isaac’s challenge and to donate, you can check out his fundraising page.
