EF News
By day, Andrew Greenwell leads National Building & Maintenance Solutions. But out of office hours, he’s pushing his limits through a self-set challenge of nine extreme endurance events, all to raise funds for St Oswald’s Hospice…
For most entrepreneurs, downtime might mean relaxing weekend breaks, enjoying leisurely rounds of golf or taking a moment to recharge away from emails. But Andrew Greenwell, owner of National Building & Maintenance Solutions (NBMS), has a different approach. He’s created his own adventure (The Cloud 9 Challenge) which will see him take on an astonishing nine endurance challenges, pushing himself through more than 1,000km of ultra-runs, triathlons and marathons – in just six short months.
Raising vital funds for St Oswald’s Hospice, The Cloud 9 Challenge is not for the faint-hearted. From marathons to Ironmans, each event is pushing Andrew to his limits. However, he openly admits he’s not a fan of the sports he’s training so hard in. “I absolutely hate running, swimming, and cycling. Honestly, I despise all three,” he laughs. So why would a man who doesn’t enjoy these sports embark on such a difficult journey? For Andrew, it all began unexpectedly.
“Around Christmas last year, a mate called me at five in the morning and asked if I fancied a run,” he recalls. “When he said we were running a ‘half’ I didn’t realise he meant a half marathon but somehow I managed it. That afternoon, I signed up for the Edinburgh Marathon. After completing it I swore I’d never do it again but within hours, I started wondering what else my body could handle? How far could I push myself?”
From that curiosity, the 'Cloud 9 Challenge’ was born, initially intended as seven events across seven months. Quickly escalating to nine, it now includes testing events like Ironman triathlons in Valencia, Vietnam, Sweden and the Netherlands, and a gruelling 100-mile Castle 2 Castle Ultra from Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland to Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. Each event has been personally selected by Andrew. “The Castle 2 Castle Ultra is special to me,” he explains. “We didn’t have much money growing up, so we never really went abroad. Instead, our holidays were always along the Northumberland coast. The race covers all those childhood spots and it just felt like a nostalgic decision – it’s one of the events I’ve been most looking forward to.”
Andrew was particularly keen that the challenge include adventures that offered personal meaning or unique experiences. “I’d always wanted to visit Valencia, so it made sense to include that. Vietnam was just a crazy decision,” Andrew laughs. “It took me 37 hours to get there, hauling my bike through airports, and arriving in 40-degree heat with barely any air to breathe. But oddly, I think I enjoyed that one the most – it was an insane experience.” He also deliberately adjusted his schedule to finish closer to home. “Originally, my last event was going to be in Weymouth, but that felt too distant. It was important to me that the final event was at home so finishing with the Great North Run just felt right.”
Andrew’s commitment goes beyond personal ambition. The connection to his chosen charity, St Oswald’s, began when his company NBMS was involved in renovating the hospice’s children’s unit.
“Initially, it started out like any other job,” says Andrew. “But as we worked, we kept adding extras at no cost – a media wall, specialist lighting – because we saw how much it meant to the kids and staff. The work they do and the difference they make is absolutely incredible; I’ve seen it all firsthand. I don’t have a personal connection to the charity in terms of having a relative use their services, but carrying out work there allowed me to see the good they were doing. I knew that the money donated will go directly to the patients, families and staff and if I was going to put myself through this physical hell, it had to be for a cause that really made a difference.”
This isn’t Andrew’s first experience of fundraising for the hospice. Last year, he completed a static Peloton Coast 2 Coast ride in his office and he organises the annual Benwell Festival.
Training, though, has not been easy. Andrew spends up to 15 hours a week fitting in intense sessions around running a business and family life. “I’m usually up at five for a run or a swim, in the office by eight-thirty, then back home for a couple more hours on the bike,” he says. “It’s relentless. Saturdays are the hardest – long cycles followed by runs, and by the afternoon I’m exhausted and grumpy. Thankfully, my wife, Lisa, understands and is extremely supportive. Making sure I spend time with my family is essential though, they really do mean everything to me. It’s a juggling act but I make it work, I just have to apologise in advance for being a little grouchy,” he laughs.
To help with training, Andrew categorises his races by importance – A, B or C – based on how seriously he wants to compete. “An A race means I’m really going for a personal best, a B race is for testing, and a C race means I’m not fussed, I’ll just see what happens,” he explains. “Edinburgh Marathon was a C race, and I certainly felt the difference. Doing a marathon without proper marathon training was brutal.”
“What I’m doing isn’t a team sport, nobody trains to this extreme, so it’s incredibly lonely. My swim sessions are up to six kilometres long – over 160 lengths of a pool with no music, just silence. It’s mentally tough, you’re constantly battling your own thoughts.
On top of that, the physical toll is enormous. It’s the little things, for example, every night after tea, I have to stretch, foam roll, and ensure I’m getting enough sleep to recover. The risk of injury is huge, and your nutrition has to be absolutely on point – I’ve even hired a nutritionist to help. You can’t afford to slip up, especially close to races. People probably think I’ve lost it when they see me sitting on a curb with tins of peaches or rice pudding, carb-loading like crazy. But nutrition is massive. If you’re not fuelling properly, your body just won’t cope. Initially, I kept getting ill. I had tonsillitis three times in three months, but now I’ve learned how to look after and fuel my body properly, things have settled down.”
Despite the punishing schedule, Andrew has found powerful motivation in his four-year-old daughter, Avery. “She decided she wanted to take part in the junior race at Edinburgh and seeing her complete that was amazing. She finished beaming, asking to do it again, so we signed her up for the IronKids race in Sweden. Inspiring her is worth everything.”
As Andrew approaches the second half of the Cloud 9 Challenge, he remains focused event-to-event. “The travel, the exhaustion… it’s immense,” he admits. “But you just have to trust the process. You have to keep moving and keep going.” That’s the advice he gives himself – and the same he shares with other entrepreneurs facing big challenges. “Pick something you’re not sure you can do. That’s the whole point. Push your boundaries. And if you can help others along the way, even better.”
As he looks ahead, finishing on home soil with the iconic Great North Run, the largest half marathon in the world, Andrew knows the end will be special. But despite already achieving so much, Andrew isn’t looking to slow down having already signed up for the 100-mile Castle 2 Castle Ultra for 2026. “My mind needs something to aim for, and I know I’m at my best when I’m pushing myself – so watch this space.”
