Gareth Timmins is currently at sea as part of the ROW4MND team, a four-year endurance rowing mission raising £57 million for Motor Neurone Disease research.
ROW4MND was inspired by rugby legends Rob Burrow (7) and Doddie Weir (5), the campaign is about keeping the drum beating for better funding, faster research, and ultimately a cure. Gareth is one of the team pushing themselves through some of the toughest waters on earth to help make that happen.
If you’d like to support the mission, donate or learn more here:
https://www.row4mnd.com/
When the sun coming up it changes everything.
No matter how horrific you feel, the first light of day somehow lifts morale and brings a sense of calm and comfort.
Small comforts matter more than you realise.
Wine gums, fruit pastels or jelly babies make your ‘chimp’ smile — even if you’d never normally eat them.
Shared hardship creates real bonds.
A simple hot drink with teammates in miserable conditions connects you in a way few other things can.
There is something strangely beautiful about suffering together.
Hard times in harsh conditions with like-minded people reveal a different side of humanity.
Perspective sharpens quickly.
You’ll see a plane or a car moving through the night and quietly wish it was you.
Humans adapt quicker than they think.
Give yourself 24 hours in almost any environment and you begin to adjust. The human system is far more adaptable than we realise.
Fatigue narrows your world.
The more tired you get, the more your thinking turns inward — you start caring about yourself more and others a little less.
Looking up at the stars during the night changes your thinking.
At some point you’ll look up and think one of two things: “Why the f** am I doing this?”* — or feel a stark appreciation for just how insignificant and vulnerable we really are.
Morale has its own currency.
Sometimes all it takes is a simple “well done” from a teammate. In hard environments, that small recognition is often enough to keep effort and alignment moving forward.