Expectant father to take on Hour record as "it's harder than giving birth"

An expectant father is to take on cycling's Hour record just weeks before his wife gives birth because he thinks it's harder. Josh Morris, 29, from Liverpool, will attempt to break Bradley Wiggins' record on Thursday May 11 on a bike he put together for less than £150. Failing that, he’s hoping to beat Luke Rowe's dad's Maindy Cycle Track course record of 35.626km (22.137 miles).

Morris said: "I saw Bradley Wiggins say it was the nearest thing that men can do to giving birth and well, I heard a woman who'd done both (Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel) say the cycling was harder, so with my wife about to give birth I thought I'd give it a go so I know what she's going through.

"Anyway, loads of people have given birth and not many people have ridden a bike round a track dead hard for an hour, so there we go.

"My wife thinks I'm being silly but at least I haven't been going on about it for nearly three quarters of a year."

Morris's wife, Laura, said: "It's not going to be harder and I think we all know that. And it's silly to try and compare anyway."

However, Morris’s effort is, of course, for charity.

"I've been sat in antenatal classes thinking how lucky we are here in the UK. We've got people who've studied it and seen hundreds of births who know what they're doing right there if you're even just the slightest bit concerned about something.

"Giving birth is the closest most women come to death during normal life and it's not risk-free even in this country with our nationalised health service.

"I remember reading about that poor woman from Nigeria who'd been desperate enough to take two transatlantic flights because she was so scared of what might happen giving birth to quadruplets at home.

"There are women out there who don't have that and I wanted to draw attention to it and maybe try and do something about it by raising a bit of money for Maternity Worldwide."

To donate to Morris’s ‘Dead Hard Hour’ attempt, visit his Virgin Money Giving page.

Natalie hayden, fundraising support officer at Maternity Worldwide said: "Here at Maternity Worldwide we are very excited to have Josh supporting us with such a fantastic and unique fundraising event.

"Every day 800 women die during childbirth or pregnancy, 99 per cent of these mothers live in low-income countries. On average it costs just £15 to provide a safe birth for a mother and her baby, so the money Josh will raise from this event will really help to make a difference."