DNF Series

Is running a marathon with your partner a wise idea? What about taking part in a triathlon together? George is about to find out as he and his wife Rachel put their marriage to the test. Now settled into life in Devon with their three children, they try to encourage a more active family lifestyle with camping holidays, family bike rides, hill-walking, and canoe trips. But things rarely go smoothly. Meanwhile, George continues to set himself ridiculous challenges. Having been a complete novice swimmer only a year earlier, he decides to confront his incompetence head-on.

After signing his wife Rachel up for her first marathon without her knowledge and living to tell the tale, George is now struggling to keep up with her. He risks her wrath once again by entering her into a half-Ironman triathlon against her will: a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run. Did Not Try sees George and Rachel travel to Barcelona, Cornwall and the Cotswolds, and helps answer the age-old question: what happens when you are bursting for a wee while riding your bike, but an injured ankle means you can’t unclip your cycling shoes?

Rachel marks her cycling sportive debut in style with 110 horrendously hilly miles that are apparently all George’s fault. Now officially a better marathon runner than George - and a rapidly improving cyclist and swimmer - Rachel is pushed to the limits after reluctantly agreeing to an ultramarathon. Did Not Start also features more family camping holidays, a visit to Paris, the arrival of the Beast from the East, and some unexpected news from a former neighbor.

Despite the trauma of the previous year’s Dartmoor Classic, George and Rachel sign up again. This time the weather takes a turn for the worse and Rachel is forced to make some creative wardrobe improvisations. Having completed several long bike rides, George now considers himself a relatively experienced cyclist. On the road.

Soon to turn 40, George and Rachel decide to take a break from the usual organized events, instead seeking adventure elsewhere. Two different cycling adventures in France follow. One a race against time. The other a race against wine. To celebrate his milestone birthday, George and Rachel take on their longest run yet - 40 miles along Britain’s oldest road. There’s yoga, a funeral, self-imposed running and swimming challenges, and a marathon with the hangover from hell.

The year begins positively with George and Rachel running every single street of their local town. Just days before the country goes into lockdown, they take on the 20 miles of the Grizzly. A race so muddy that firefighters are stationed at the finish line to hose down runners. Then the year takes a dramatic turn. Food shortages, homeschooling, quiet roads, home haircuts, yoga, Rachel’s new marathon a month challenge and a walking holiday...in a different part of Devon.

Still living in the shadow of a global pandemic, George and Rachel attempt some of their toughest events so far. Rachel decides to sign up to her first iron-distance triathlon. But a broken bone threatens to derail George’s chances of joining her. They take on their longest ever run, most challenging swim, their first swim-run event, and a backyard ultra—a race that can only have one finisher. Ludo—the family’s hairy four-legged friend—gets in on the action as an official competitor in a muddy fun run.