THE WORLD record for the longest solo row was shattered by a man from Bracknell who took to a rowing machine for more than 100 hours.

Ben Ajayi-Obe overcame extreme exhaustion and showed unbelievable mental strength over the Easter weekend as he sailed past the previous 84-hour record.

The world record attempt formed part of an intense training regime that Mr Ajayi-Obe has undertaken as preparation for the brutal Talisker Atlantic Challenge which he and his team will take on at the end of the year.

The race has been deemed the world’s toughest rowing race.

Speaking to the Bracknell News about the gruelling challenge, Mr Ajayi- Obe said the four-day row was the hardest things he has done in his life time.

“It feels a bit surreal to me and I don’t think I estimated how hard it really would be.

“For the first day of rowing it was manageable but by the end it became so intense that my family was worried for my health,” he said.

“At one point, my aunt who came to support me stayed far longer than the had originally planned because she was so concerned for me.”

For him to break the record, Mr Ajayi-Obe was required to row for 50 minutes of every hour and have a 10-minute break. But he said that the 10-minute breaks, although necessary, made the challenge even harder.

He added: “Rowing for that amount of time without any sleep was unbelievably hard so for those short 10-minute breaks I would try sneak in a quick nap.

“My dad would wake me up at the end and I would be in an almost delirious state.

“I would have no idea where I was and what I was doing and he would have to explain to me what the buttons on the rowing machine did.

“I am incredibly proud to have achieved what I have.”

In his rowing bid, Mr Ajayi-Obe has raised hundreds for good causes.

His £800 fundraising total will be split between Berkshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre (BMSTC), based in Reading, the MS Society and for Atlantic Discovery (his team at the Talisker Atlantic Challenge).