At the age of 59, Mike Longley is aiming to join the 40 million metre club on his Concept2 indoor rowing machine.

Mike is proof that nearing 60 does not mean you have to slow down or give up on your favourite sporting pastimes. In fact, having rowed over 30 million metres on his Concept2 indoor rower, Mike puts the majority of younger people to shame with his dedication to fitness.

Since taking up indoor rowing almost 12 years ago, Mike is one of just three people in the UK who have joined the exclusive 30 million metre club, having put in over 7,100 metres a day for more than 4,200 days to achieve this goal.

And despite hitting the big 6-0 later this year, Mike shows no signs of slowing down and is aiming to complete over 40 million metres, which would be the equivalent of travelling around the circumference of the world.

Originally, Mike set out to achieve this mammoth task in 20 years - rowing the equivalent of two million metres annually - however, his dedication has so far put him two years ahead of schedule.

A keen sportsman, Mike was formerly a county runner, but had to give up the sport following a number of knee operations. He then started using the rowing machine at a local gym where he met a former member of the Team GB rowing squad who advised him to attend the Nottingham Boat Club.

He later turned to indoor rowing and along with Keith Atkinson, president of the Nottingham Rowing Club and a fellow Concept2 rower enthusiast, started aiming to complete one million metres and then set his sights on much more ambitious targets.

In addition, Mike has competed in a number of timed events, including a half marathon, and raised cash for both Comic Relief and the dialysis unit at Nottingham City Hospital through sponsored rowing stints, one of which saw him rowing 50,000 metres in one day.

"Rowing keeps me fit, I've had a lot of mishaps, four knee operations, half disc out of my back, a hernia operation and a smashed elbow to name a few. Keeping going with my rowing is a means of defiance, rather than accepting that I have had all these problems and hanging my boots up. The more problems I have the more determined I am to keep rowing."

He added that as well as the physical benefits, rowing has provided him with a great deal of comfort in recent years, especially since the death of his daughter two and a half years ago.

"I found that rowing was a great comfort. Obviously I was going through a very emotional and distressing time and I was very down and sometimes very angry because I could not understand why this had happened to my daughter.
Rowing was a good means of letting rip and taking your anger out on the machine. Mentally it is very good, it keeps me motivated and on track. In the past two and a half years my rowing machine has been a good companion to me."

Mike also extolled the health benefits of indoor rowing, stating that his regular exercise has developed his back muscles, meaning they support his spine better and stop his back being as painful.

He added that he is surprised more people are not battling it out to use the rowing machines at their local gym, as in his experience, he burns twice as many calories using his Concept2 indoor rower compared to cycling. As rowing is a weight-bearing sport, it does not leave people prone to the sorts of leg and knee injuries that cycling can cause, he added.

And for anyone who thinks they are too small or not muscular enough for indoor rowing, at 5 ft 7 and about 10 stone Mike is evidence that you don't have to be powerful to achieve good times and cover long distances, as long as you take the time to develop a good technique.

Mike himself has no plans to hang up his indoor oars just yet. Describing himself as a stubborn person, he plans to only stop his daily bout of rowing when he is no longer physically able to carry on.