History-maker Sarah Ruggins smashes outright world record for cycling from John o’ Groats to Land’s End and back, after illness left her unable to walk as a teenager

Five and a half days, 2,700km, brutal headwinds, tough hills, sleep deprivation, a copious supply of Mars Bars, and (bizarrely) a Highlands-traumatising pole dance from a cameraman later – and Dr Sarah Ruggins has done it.

The Canadian, a relative newcomer to cycling who first started riding a bike just three years ago after losing her ability to walk as a teenager due to a debilitating illness, has smashed the outright world record for cycling the length of Britain and back, beating James MacDonald’s previous benchmark for the epic 2,700km ride.

On Friday evening at around 7.30pm, Ruggins arrived back at the Scottish village of John o’ Groats, five days, 11 hours, and 14 minutes after setting off for Land’s End, meaning she bettered MacDonald’s JOGLEJOG record, set in 2017, by around seven hours, placing her in the rarified sporting air of female athletes who hold both men’s and women’s endurance records.

In setting the outright world record, inarguably one of the sporting achievements of the decade, the 37-year-old also knocked a staggering four days and 13 hours off the women’s record, set by Louise Harris in 2023, when she covered the 2,700km distance in ten days and five hours.

Ruggins – who only bought her first bike in 2023 before quickly taking to ultra-cycling and riding the Transcontinental self-supported ultra-distance race across Europe in both 2023 and 2024, as well as the Race Around Rwanda – was forced to endure her toughest challenge yet on her way to cycling immortality.

Choosing, like MacDonald, to start and finish in John o’ Groats (the Guinness World Record simply states that cyclists must ride between two furthest points in the UK, regardless of direction), Sarah covered between 500km and 600km every day in her ultimately successful bid for the record.

But as she rode north back through Scotland, suffering from a persistent cough, she was faced with some serious headwinds which, exacerbated by exhaustion, caused her to collapse shortly after crossing the bridge over the Firth of Forth in Edinburgh.

She then experienced a dramatic Thursday night thanks to sleep deprivation, her team revealing that she fell asleep on her feet and needed to be carried off the bike, requiring a 30-minute nap, lots of glucose and caffeine, and some cognitive tests before she was sent on her way again.

However, Ruggins entered her final day on the road with a “second wind” after receiving a pep talk from some supportive dotwatchers, and was motivated – if that’s the right word – along the road by cameraman Ben, who stripped naked to pole dance on a Cairngorms descent to cheer her up.

“Our apologies to the Highlands in general but you gotta do what you gotta do!” her team joked on Instagram.

Those motivational exercises – both orthodox and 18-rated – along with her own astonishing physical resistance and mental fortitude pushed Ruggins on to finish at that iconic sign at John o’ Groats on Friday evening, a new, groundbreaking world record in the bag.

“Words fail me, what a ride!” Roland Bartmuss, who covered Sarah’s record-breaking ride for the Dotwatcher site, wrote on Friday evening.

“She conquered the last kilometres with all her strength and determination and a team that did everything possible to support this effort. There was fatigue, relentless climbing along the coast, headwind and after the cold night the heat of the day.

“We only can imagine the rollercoaster of emotions Sarah and the team went through on this homestretch. You have done great and by getting to the iconic signpost you became a legend.”

Along with breaking the JOGLEJOG record, the ultra-cyclist, born in Canada and now living in Cirencester, has also raised almost £15,000 at the time of writing for two charities, The Bike Project and Bikes for Refugees.

The mental and physical courage Sarah exhibited while riding the length of Britain twice in five and a half days has been on display for most of her life.

In her childhood, Ruggins was a promising track athlete with aspirations of the Olympics and representing Canada. However, at 15 she was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), known as one of the world’s most painful diseases, which ended her running career and left her bedridden for years.

She lost the ability to walk, was transferred abroad for urgent 24/7 care, and would spend years fighting to recover.

“I want to show that just because life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad life,” she said.

“My future was bright, but I developed a disease where I lost my ability to walk and use my hands. I had gone from Olympic hopeful to requiring 24/7 care.

“My family was incredibly supportive and we were fortunate to find a charity that helped us stay together when I was transferred to another country for medical care. Thankfully, intense rehabilitation helped me recover and return to school.”

Having returned to athletics she set her sights on the LEJOG running record but, a few weeks before, suffered a significant injury.

“My new body was just not strong enough to run again,” she explained. “Not wanting to lose what I had worked for years to rebuild, I purchased a bicycle. I just had to learn how to ride it.

“In five months I went from novice to competing in some of the hardest ultra-endurance cycling races in the world, and in a surprise to everyone including me, achieved a finish near the top of the pack.”

Explaining why chose to raise funds for Bikes for Refugees and The Bike Project, Sarah said: “I’ve seen firsthand how a bicycle can change people’s opportunities and quality of life, in a way very different to but resonating with the way it has changed mine.”

As she made her way this week from John o’ Groats to Land’s End and back, the message on the handlebars which guided her to her place in cycling history read: ‘Focus. Discipline. Gratitude.’

That sums Sarah Ruggins up quite nicely.