Army captain, Emily Peers, is used to going head to head with her Royal Navy helicopter pilot boyfriend in physical challenges, and was eagerly anticipating competing against him in the UK's toughest 24 hour mountain bike endurance race this June.
But the 28 year old, from Fownhope near Hereford, had to rethink her plans when she learnt the army was sending her to Malta on a training exercise on the day of the Original Source Mountain Mayhem event.
Determined not to miss out on the spirit of the event, Emily made sure she equalled the gruelling 24 hour cycling challenge her boyfriend was undergoing, by completing four hour swims in the open harbour in Malta at 6.30am every day for a week
She says: "The armed forces are notoriously competitive and as I'm in the army and my boyfriend's in the navy we really enjoy competing against each other. When I heard I was being sent to Malta, I was determined not to miss out on the race, and so came up with the idea of doing my bit by swimming instead – it will be good training for next year's event!"