A Redditch prison officer will be taking no prisoners after challenging inmates of Swinfen Hall, Staffordshire, to an indoor rowing race.

Along with friend Ben Steadmen, Mark Davis, 33, a fitness instructor at HMP Blakenhurst, will take on two teams of inmates using indoor rowing machines over a distance of 100,000 metres.The event is part of a gruelling training regime for the 2009 Indian Ocean Rowing Race, which the pair are doing in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research.The race will see them set out from Australia in April 2009 and row to Mauritius, a journey of 3,100 miles which is expected to take between 60 and 100 days.

Mark said: "We've had a lot of support from the prison service and colleagues and prisoners at Swinfen Hall.
"We're looking forward to the event and it's great that it's raising money for our chosen charity, Macmillan."
Speaking about the 2009 race he added:
"Sea sickness aside, I can't wait. I'm looking forward to it. The preparation will be hard, but I'm fully prepared for the long haul. We'll have to commit ourselves 100 per cent in the early part of the adventure to ensure we reach the start line fully prepared and then 200 per cent to achieve what we know we're capable of."

For more details or to sponsor Mark and Ben, visit www.bigboysrow.com