Going the distance

At Levin’s velodrome, a giddy, saddle-sore Stu Downs celebrated with his kids after claiming the New Zealand 24-hour cycling record.

But a decade earlier he was a different man. This is a story of how faith and audacious goal setting can combine to turn a life around.

‘When my son Alex was born, I gave my life a lot of thought,’ says Stu. ‘I decided I wanted a degree and also wanted to improve my health.’

In 2004, Stu’s doctor told him that at 120kg he was obese. He recalls, ‘Life was a little undirected [and] I was growing increasingly unhappy with my weight. [I had an] awareness that nothing really worked. People often feel helpless in this situation and this is not a good state.’

One of the key changes Stu made at this pivotal moment was to enrol in a psychology degree part-time. He graduated in 2011, and alongside his studies Stu got his health back on track … really on track.

Stu’s dad invited him to enter a new cycle race in Marlborough called the Grape Ride. A cycling novice, the overweight Stu adopted an ‘if Dad can do it, so can I’ mentality and put in 10 weeks of training only to suffer a cruel lesson in the hardships of endurance sport. He crawled home 74th of 76 starters in his age group.

Nevertheless, Stu ‘took the positives’ from the experience and began frequently cycling 30 kilometres to and from work. Then, on a solo uphill 120-kilometre ride in the South Island, amid rain and sleet, and with a bleeding leg, Stu says his love for endurance sport —and for what it represents in his life—really began. He describes the moment when his wife and kids met him at the end of the ride: ‘[They] looked at me in horror—I must have been quite a sight. But I had a grin from ear to ear.’

From there, Stu entered and competed in ever-longer and harder endurance events. Marathons, ironman races, cycle races more than 500 kilometres long—he was a changed man.

‘I slowly realised that the key was to challenge myself with big enough goals,’ says Stu. His goals were so big that they genuinely demanded self-belief and strategy for him to reach the finish line. ‘Most people are happy with what they know and do not like to be challenged,’ he explains. ‘However, these same people feel a new lease of life if they take a step into the dark and risk failure in the pursuit of success. That is a very empowering moment—to know that you’ve created something out of nothing.’

Stu credits his achievements in study and on the bike to God teaching him about possibilities: ‘In my view, faith should be about options and choices. It should make our world bigger. God should be about hope and faith and seeing the best in others and having your life mean more than just today. And most of all, it should be about knowing that you only get one life and one day you’ll be gone—so do today what you could have done tomorrow.’

In 2011, Stu was training for an attempt on the New Zealand 24-hour cycling record. All the training eventually took its toll and several hospital visits later, he had to abandon this attempt. However, his daughter Amy (nine years old at the time) wrote him a note saying, ‘You can win the 24-hour record.’ He kept this note as a bookmark and returned to it often. And just a few months later, Amy’s belief in her dad became reality.

In April 2012, Stu covered a staggering 691 kilometres (slightly longer than riding from Auckland to Wellington) in 24 hours, of which only 11 minutes were spent off his bike (for toilet stops and mechanical repairs). Cyclists reading this will appreciate that one of Stu’s biggest discomforts was the chafing.

For Stu, whether it’s a gutsy national record or a leisurely ride through Wellington’s Akatarawas, his bike provides an opportunity to commune with Jesus. ‘I have no idea how someone can sit on a bike for a day at a time and not have some kind of faith,’ he says. ‘I have these really cool experiences, fantastic views, breathtaking scenery, and the highs and lows that may come with any extended ride. I never feel alone. That has been very reassuring.’

Stu’s next great challenge is a double ironman in Florida in 2015. This is the usual swim, bike and run of an ironman (which takes most people well over 10 hours), but it’s twice as long. Stu says that the distance for the event is 281 miles, which is ideal because his motto for the event comes from Proverbs 28:1: ‘The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.’

By Hayden Shearman (abridged from War Cry, 1 June 2013, p9)

Go to www.no-more-shadows.blogspot.co.nz to follow Stu’s inspirational blog.