THE last time Paula McGuire tried her hand at sport, she still thought that a Marathon was a chocolate bar.

She shirked all sporting activity at school, and kept up the same attitude for years afterwards.

Yet she cycled round the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, and enjoyed it – apart from the moment when she went head-first over the handlebars.

Paula, 32, was at the Velodrome as part of her campaign to learn all 17 sports – from rugby sevens and lawn bowls to squash and aquatics – that will make up the roster at next year's Commonwealth Games.

She said: "When I came up with the idea I thought I was the one person who can prove that it can be done, because I have no sporting ability at all.

"I can't throw, I can't catch, I can't swim, I can't ride a bike. I've never run the length of myself.

"At secondary school, the teachers used to tell me to stay at home on sports day, because they didn't want me as part of their team.

"When I was starting to learn how to cycle, I ripped my legs apart on the pedals.

"I contacted Cycling Scotland, because of the Bikeability lessons they do for kids.

"It just seemed right for the level I was at.And they've been brilliant. They invited me onto the Bikeability lessons and I get one-to-one tuition down at Glasgow Green.

"I started with the basics – I had never even touched a racing bike before.

"I loved the Velodrome – it was the chance of a lifetime.

"When I got on the bike, my feet couldn't touch the floor, and there were no brakes. I went straight over a barrier and went over, cracking my head on the concrete. Luckily, I had a helmet on.

"I fell over quite a few times but I was more worried about the bike than I was myself. Eventually I got on the track and thought, this is the best thing in the world."

Paula is now so taken with cycling that she will be one of thousands of cyclists doing the 47-mile freshnlo Pedal for Scotland ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh on September 8.

Ian Aitken, Chief Executive of Cycling Scotland, said: "It's amazing to see Paula taking on this huge challenge. Cycling is a great way to start too, as it's a really accessible activity and has loads of benefits for health. "

Paula, meantime, is aiming to expand her sporting repertoire. Having just finished badminton lessons, she has tried her hand at weightlifting, at a club in Kilmarnock, with the aid of Peter Kirkbride, a silver medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and a member of Team GB at last summer's London Olympics.

She hopes to have learned all 17 sports by the time the Games open. .

l Follow Paula's efforts at www.paulamusttryharder.co.uk. The Pedal for Scotland website is at www.pedalforscotland.org

russell.leadbetter@ eveningtimes.co.uk

PAULA McGuire never took part in any sport at school or for much of her adult life. But the

32-year-old has now set herself a startling challenge – to learn all 17 sports that will feature in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Russell Leadbetter finds out why