A SKIPTON woman who has set herself a gruelling challenge of rowing one million metres is well on her way to completing the challenge after sailing past the 800,000 mark earlier this month.

Securing corporate sponsorship from estate agency firm Dacre, Son & Hartley, Jo Moseley hopes the challenge will raise more than £6,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support after seeing both her parents battle cancer.

Her mum was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012 and passed away last year and her dad has successfully fought breast, bowel and skin cancer.

Jo kicked off the epic challenge in May and currently spends up to six hours each week on a rowing machine at Skipton’s Craven Fitness Centre. She hopes to finish on December 21, which will be the first anniversary of her mum’s death, when she will row a 42,195 metre marathon at Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Club.

This will put the 49-year-old among a unique group of rowers with only six women in the UK, aged between 40 and 49, recording marathon rows with Concept2’s global rowing leader board, last year and just 42 worldwide.

So far this year, no rowing marathons have been recorded in Jo’s age category.

Jo says: “Macmillan have been a fantastic support to my whole family over the last few years so I was really keen to give something back and show our appreciation for all their help. I only started rowing recently when a friend lent me a rowing machine but I really enjoy it, feel healthier and always sleep well afterwards so it made sense to do a rowing challenge.

“The support I’m receiving is fantastic and securing sponsorship from Dacres has been a major coup. The final marathon event at Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Club will be a huge celebration and gala event to mark the end of my challenge. There will also be a second rowing machine there so supporters can row alongside me for encouragement because 42,195 metres is a long way!”

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential sales at Dacre, Son & Hartley says: “This challenge is both extremely tough and hugely inspiring. To commit to a fundraising challenge that will take more than seven months to complete is no mean feat, so as a successful local business we’re delighted to lend our support to Jo and help her reach her target for such a fantastic cause.”

To make a donation visit justgiving.com/OneHappyRower and to keep up with Jo’s progress on Twitter follow @OneHappyRower.