Hello All
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
On 4th July at around 7am I expect to be clad in rubber, milling around knee deep in a lake just outside Frankfurt. At that point there will be precisely 226 km between me and the finish line - 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run. As I crawl over that finish line about 12 or 13 hours later the announcer will say 'Matt Brown .... you are an Ironman!' - well that's the plan anyhow. My youngest son Kinin has noted that the new 'Ironman 2' movie has just been released so is more than a little curious about what will actually happen when I become Ironman ... I suspect the blubbering wreck that awaits him may disappoint just a bit.
Anyhow ... back to the real point in this page. Back in October when I commenced on this folly, I hoped not only to achieve a personal goal but also raise money for KAIS Village Orphanage in Cambodia. I had no idea at that time how demanding my commitment would be. To train for this feat of futility I have spent a lot more time clad in lycra and rubber than is natural for any man, swapped beer for gatorade and become scarily resistant to chaffing! My average training week has been 14-16 hours of sweat and tears, but some have stretched well into the 20s - more than I spend at work some would say! It struck me that, regardless of how hard my 12+ hours will be on the 4th July, and how painful all those early mornings have been, or how tough the long rides out in the desert are ... the fact is I could have at any stage made the simple decision to opt out, and my life would have gone back to its normal comfortable self - a wonderful family, the good fortune to be healthy and well educated and no end of opportunities. The kids of KAIS Village Orphanage and many hundreds like them in Cambodia of course don't have the option to opt for comfort when things get a bit tough ... life has conspired to restricted their options so much that getting a feed, achieving basic literacy and rudimentary medical help is beyond many of them.
I'm hoping that you could join me in making a donation to Camkids and sponsoring some of these kids into a better life. Camkids is a wonderful charity founded by 3 families who all have a very close association with KAIS Village (as do the Browns of course). We know one of these familes very well and feel entirely comfortable that every single dollar donated goes directly to a needy kid. Camkids not only sponsors KAIS, but also a bunch of other causes related to vulnerable Cambodian children - check out their website http://camkids.org/ .
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
