HE’S the fastest runner around but doesn’t move off the spot, rides quicker than his rivals without budging an inch and leaves fellow rowers trailing in his wake — and there is not a drop of water to be seen.

It may sound like a Christmas cracker riddle but when it comes to going nowhere fast, Neil Cameron is your man!

The Darwen fire fighter is a world record holder and multi-champion gymathlete. Endurance is the name of the game for Cameron but without leaving the sweaty confines of the gym.

Not just content with pounding the treadmill, lifting weights and riding bike machines in the name of keeping fit and losing a few pounds, 40-year-old Cameron is heavily involved in the sport of Cross Training.

And he just happens to be pretty good at it.

Cross Training is the increasingly popular exercise that combines cardio vascular with strength exercises.

And last month Cameron set a new world record in the worldgymchalllenge and also holds the quickest time in the men’s masters category in The Octathlon — a series of eight gym-based disciplines that push competitors to the brink of total exhaustion.

And the former Marine proved to be a match for the current crop when he won the Masters event to find the fittest Marine.

And all this after taking a nine year break from the gruelling world of the gymnasium “I have always been in to keeping fit” said the former Darwen Vale pupil who also attended St Mary’s College. “Physical exercise was a big part of the training in the Marines.”

Cameron was a Physical Training Instructor in the Marines and also played semi final professional football for Arbroath Victoria while on duty in Scotland and was light middleweight boxing champion while in the forces.

He had plans to follow a footballing path when he came out of the Marines after nine years of loyal service until a chance meeting at his local gym.

“I was chatting to one of the guys who was training for a Cross Training competition.

“He invited me to train alongside him and it all went from there.”

Cameron was no stranger to pushing himself to the limit as a Marine while a Fire Fighter is hardly your average nine to five desk job.

“Cross Training is very rewarding put you push yourself incredible hard.

“You keep going until you virtually collapse and you are doing this in the confines of a gym and sometimes in front of a big crowd.”

Cross Training and variations of consists of a range of activities that push the body to the max.

Bench jumps, sit ups, step up shoulder press, treadmill, bike and rower straight after one another and in the quickest time possible – not for your usual so called keep fit fanatic.

“It is hard but the best thing about it is that there are different events for different levels of fitness.

“Of course you have to have reached a certain level of fitness and you have to put in the hours.”

Putting in the hours was something Cameron couldn’t afford as he had more pressing matters on his hands during his nine year ‘sabatical’ — helping to bring up his three children.

“I still worked hard but I wasn’t competing because it just took up too much time and I had the children to think of.”

But now that his youngest son Lewis, aged five, has joined big brother Ben, nine, and eight-year-old sister Amber in full time education, Cameron has found time to get back in the gym.

“I’ve really enjoyed getting back in to it and winning the Worldgymchallenge and currently holding the fastest time has got to be the highlight for me,” added Cameron who trains six days a week.

He trains in a number of gyms including The Regency at Darwen Vale. And he says the help and advice of fitness instructors Kevin Brown and Anthony Brannigan have helped him do so well.

“They have been a great help,” said Cameron. “I’m not too sure how much longer I am going to do this for but Kevin and Anthony have played their part in my success.”

l For more details about Cross Training log on to www.worldgymchallenge.com