Together, Team Hatch are aiming to raise £100,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in memory of James Hatchley’s daughter Emma who was diagnosed, aged 15, with an extremely rare disease called Churg Strauss Syndrome. For 102 days the wonderful surgeons, doctors and nurses at GOSH across over 30 departments did absolutely everything in their collective power to save, stabilise and give Emma the chance of returning to a normal life but tragically she lost her battle on 30th May, 2014.  The compassion, skill, love and friendship extended to Emma and her family by the staff of GOSH are why we are committed as a team to continuing the fundraising efforts in Emma’s memory.

My first encounter with James was when I sat on the bike next to him at the Athlete Lab on a Friday morning at 6.30am. With his kind smile and infectious energy, he cajoled me into racing him up every hill on the course, something that he continues to do every time we train together. Whether it’s in the pool or on the bike, James’s relentless energy and drive always offers you the encouragement you need to challenge yourself to be the best you can be.

My own journey to triathlon started when I somewhat foolishly signed up to my first Ironman in 2016. Going from nothing to Ironman in 8 months meant that I had a steep learning curve ahead which challenged my body and mind in ways I had never imagined were achievable. From then on, I fell in love with endurance racing, the inspirational people you meet along the journey and the unique feeling of peace you access when pushing your body to the absolute limit. When James asked me after hard a session on the bike what my sporting goals were for 2018, I was feeling lost. I told him that I was searching for a new motivation beyond just the physical challenge. When he invited me to race Challenge Lisboa with Team Hatch I was immediately humbled and honoured to be part of such an inspirational team, raising money for a fantastic cause.

Every day 618 children and young people from across the UK arrive at GOSH. This extraordinary hospital has always depended on charitable support to give seriously ill children the best chance to fulfil their potential. As we each individually race to achieve our sporting goals, whether that be completion, sub 4 hours or being the happiest person on the course (my goal in every race), we appreciate any generous donations that takes us closer to our collective goal of giving other children like Emma the chance to fulfil theirs.

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