No tea. No coffee. No fizzy drinks. No wine, no beer, no orange juice. Just water for 10 days.
That’s the challenge that husband and wife Russell and June Collister of Port St Mary have just completed to raise money to help save lives at sea.
They took on the RNLI’s H2Only challenge, which forbids participants from drinking anything but water for more than a week.
The couple are well-known for their sporting achievements – Russell is a keen triathlete who regularly competes both in the island and overseas, while June is a founder member of the Manx Tri Club.
And having been crowned Isle of Man dinghy champions no fewer than 11 times, the work of the RNLI is close to their hearts.
Surely their healthy lifestyle would help them in their task?
‘I actually thought it was going to be quite easy’, said Russell. ‘I really only drink decaf, but I might have one or two caffeinated coffees during the day. But I found it really, really hard.
‘10 days was quite enough, I was ready to stop after five or six. With all my training I tend to drink a lot of sports drinks and just drinking water when I was training was horrible. There’s just no reward when you’re pushing yourself.
‘I also really missed not having a coffee in the morning, and I struggled with the blandness of water. You really miss the texture of other drinks, which is something I’d never thought about.’
But the monotony was the least of their problems as the sudden loss of caffiene caused them both to endure headaches in the first few days.
June told the Examiner that she was surprised to discover how much of her energy comes from sugary and caffienated drinks.
She said: ‘I don’t always have a lot of time and I might have a milkshake or an orange juice during the day. But if all you can have is water, you start to run out of energy very quickly.
‘It makes you realise how much you rely on other drinks as a kind of food supplement. After three days of headaches I had to really make sure that I was eating properly.’
She continued: ‘I didn’t miss the alcohol, which surprised me. I thought I’d miss the option of having a glass of wine.
‘In fact it was only when we went for a meal and we both ordered water that it was a bit strange. Otherwise it was the fuel-related drinks that was the really hard bit.’
Meanwhile Russell had to stick to his guns during business trips to South Africa and London during the challenge.
He said: ‘The trick was to tell everybody what you’re doing so there’s no escape. If you tell people that you’re only drinking water for 10 days for charity, they make sure you stick to it.
‘It’s a good talking point, people were very supportive and would usually give me some money.’
The couple finally got back to normal last week having completed the 10-day challenge but they say they’re in no hurry to sign up for next year.
Russell said: ‘I’m now drinking much more water and I’ve cut right down on caffeinated drinks.
‘The nicest thing was to get back to training with proper energy drinks again, it’s really made me appreciate them.’
June added: ‘I probably drink more water than I did before, but I wouldn’t like to do it again!