Dr. Sarah Ruggins Breaks All-Time LEJOGLE World Record

A New Overall LEJOGLE Record

On Friday, May 16, Dr. Sarah Ruggins rode into cycling history completing the iconic 2,700km Land’s End to John o’ Groats and back (LEJOGLE) route in just 5 days, 11 hours, and 14 minutes.

This isn’t just a new women’s record. It’s the fastest time ever recorded. Sarah has broken both the male and female records by a margin of hours and days respectively, becoming one of the few women in history to hold an outright endurance cycling world record.

And here’s the kicker: two years ago, she didn’t even own a road bike, and in her teens she wasn’t able to walk.

A Ride with Purpose

Sarah’s journey wasn’t just about performance. She rode to raise funds for two charities close to her heart, The Bike Project, which provides refurbished bikes to refugees in the UK, and Bikes for Refugees an organisation that helps supporting socio-economically disadvantaged New Scots with free bikes and support to ease integration into the community.

An autoimmune disease left Sarah paralysed in her teens, unable to walk or use her hands. After years of intensive care, she moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a PHD. She’s also hosted refugee women in her home and got to see firsthand the difference a bike makes to access, mobility, and freedom.

The Bike

Sarah completed the 2,700km, 16,000m elevation journey on her 2025 Liv EnviLiv Advanced Pro 0 AXS, Liv’s fastest aero road bike offering, designed specifically for women chasing high-performance goals. The bike components were stock, with a 48-35 chainring on the front, and a 10-36 cassette on the back. Along with Giant SLR 1 wheels and Liv clip-on aero bar with Aerocoach pads for comfort.

Her setup was built for speed and endurance. Every detail from cooling strategies to visibility tape was used to keep her moving around the clock with what her team estimated to be only up to 2 hours of sleep per night. With her having a particularly brutal Thursday night where the team found her asleep on her feet and she had to be carried off the bike, slept for 30 minutes, and topped up on glucose and caffeine along with passing a cognition test before remounting her bike.

Before her ride, Sarah stated: “I’m challenging this record to close the chapter on the versions of my life I didn’t get to live,” Ruggins said in an interview before the ride. “And to give something back to two organisations that help people rebuild their lives with dignity and freedom. Often using something as simple, but powerful, as a bicycle.” Congratulations Sarah on this massive achievement, you absolutely smashed it!