Paralysed but still Climbing

Jimmy Goddard was training to be a soldier when he sustained a spinal injury in a climbing accident. His journey from a hospital bed to the summit of Kilimanjaro is an inspiring tale for anyone who feels that they may not be able to live adventurously themselves.

Why did you decide to climb Kili on a handbike?

About a month after the rock climbing accident which left me paralysed from the chest down I was lying in my bed in Stoke Mandeville Hospital and picked up a Spinal Injuries Association Magazine that was being circulated around the ward. The leading article was about a paraplegic man named Keegan Reilly who had ridden a specially designed hand cranked off road bike up Japan’s Mount Fuji. I knew from the instant I picked it up that this was for me. It was the 2004 paralympics at the time of my accident and my steady stream of visitors over the last 4 weeks had all quizzed me as to which paralympic sport I would take up but none of them really appealed. What I really wanted more than anything else was to get back into the mountains and the open air and away from the ‘disability’ that surrounded and pervaded me at Stoke Mandeville.

Did that expedition scratch the itch of adventure (i.e. did it make you feel you could accomplish loads in a wheelchair, or did it make you more frustrated about it?)

I guess it did both of these and probably in equal measure. Having a massive challenge to focus on again really got me moving forward towards the end of my time at Stoke Mandeville and after I’d got discharged. Travelling to Boston Massachusetts to test ride the bike and then later to Arizona to train with a friend on the moonscape terrain similar to Kilimanjaro plus training here in the UK all gave me that sense of purpose and focus that I really enjoy. This was extremely cathartic after the accident. Actually travelling out to Africa and doing the climb was very two sided though. It was great to be in West Africa and it was great to be up in the mountains but it was really frustrating to have my movements limited to where I could go on the bike. I remember very clearly in the evenings my friends who were with me on the trip wondering off to explore the area around the camp while I waited back by the tents. I found this extremely frustrating and like I’d had my wings clipped.

You moved from expeditions to high-level triathlon. Why?

There were many reasons behind this decision but essentially I was at the stage in my life where I was about to finish university and move into the work place. I saw high level competition as a career that I could pursue and make a living out of for a number of years where as expeditioning was expensive and difficult to do full-time so I’d need to get another job to support it. In a way it is a shame I felt this way as there are so many people who have proved that this is not true. You are, however, very much your own boss when it comes to full-time expeditioning and I’ve never been the greatest at that. To some degree I felt I was better as part of a squad.

What are the similarities / differences between adventure and sport?

There is a huge amount of cross over between modern expediting and elite sport. With every corner of the earth having already been discovered, explored and mapped out contemporary adventurers have to put a twist on their expeditions in order to make them different, interesting and exciting. So many people have simply done so many amazing things that it’s difficult to set yourself apart and make a statement. There’s no need to set yourself apart, of course, to have a great adventure, but many people choose to. It’s a way of expressing themselves. And one of the simplest ways of setting yourself apart is by doing something athletically extraordinary and making it central to the concept of your adventure. When adventurers take this to the highest levels there is often not much difference between what they are doing and aspects of the very highest level of endurance sport. In fact we don’t have to be focusing on the higher levels of performance to see this cross over, the same is true right down to the routes of adventure and sport.

What advice would you have for someone in a wheelchair who is dreaming of adventure but feels that it’s not realistic for them?

Find role models. So many people have done so many extraordinary things these days that its nearly impossible not to find somebody who has done something similar to what you might be planning so get on the internet and look for inspiration. Don’t be shy, approach people and get advice, most adventurers I’ve met make a point of being really really helpful to new people trying to get into the scene. And finally dream big but start small, learn the processes (kit, funding, planning etc) and work your way up to to something epic!

My new book, Grand Adventures, is out now.
It’s designed to help you dream big, plan quick, then go explore.
The book contains interviews and expertise from around 100 adventurers, plus masses of great photos to get you excited.

I would be extremely grateful if you bought a copy here today!

I would also be really thankful if you could share this link on social media with all your friends – http://goo.gl/rIyPHA. It honestly would help me far more than you realise.

Thank you so much!