Rufus Grantham
London Triathlon Sweepstake
Fundraising for LAM Action
Story
James Britton, Fraser Duff, Chris Firmin, Rufus Grantham, Andrew Hogley, Phil Mitchell, Jennifer Shields and John Wyn-Evans will be completing the Olympic distance at this year’s London Triathlon.
We have decided to join forces to organise a sweepstake to raise money for two deserving but relatively small charities; LAM Action, which funds research into a rare lung disease affecting women and The Frank Haines Memorial Trust, which is raising money to support community development projects for children in the East End of London – see the bottom of the mail for more info on these and why we chose them.
Here are the rules of the sweepstake.
- Donate £20 per guess. – We do accept and encourage multiple guesses!!!
- Email rgrantha@lehman.com a time in hours minutes and seconds between 2 hours 15 mins and 3 hours 15 mins and also a one-two finishing order out of the 8 of us above.
- If the time you pick is the closest to either a) the fastest time from the group, b) the slowest time from the group or c) the average time for the group you will be one of our 3 winners.- If there is a tie then we will use your top two finish choice as a tie-breaker.
- Winners get 10% of the total pot raised each and we are hoping to raise £4-5,000 between both charities
We are also collecting in cash and will use this to balance up the amount raised between Lam Action and The Frank Haines Memorial Fund.
The Charities:
LAM Action – www.lamaction.org
LAM (Lymphangioleiomyomatosis) is a rare lung disease affecting only women (approx one in a million – there are around 75 registered patients in the – the women impacted are normally fairly young).
The disease leads to a slow overgrowth of lung tissue which over an extended period leads to increasing breathing difficulties including heightened risk of collapsed lungs and ultimately there is currently no cure. Because of its rarity it struggles to attract funding to research into the causes of the disease to look for a cure. LAM Action was formed in 1997 by a group of 21 patients with the disease to try to raise money themselves to fund a postgraduate position to research into the disease and also to provide support to those with the disease and their families.
We chose this charity because Rufus's mum is one of the patients in the UK.
The Frank Haines Memorial Fund – www.frankhaines.com
Frank Haines sudden death earlier this year while competing in a half-marathon in was diagnosed as “Sudden Adult Death Syndrome”. This Memorial Fund has been set up by his family to raise money in his memory to fund community development projects for children in the East End of London.
We chose this charity because James Britton was a friend of Frank’s.
The “Athletes” – a form guide…
James Britton - Unknown quantity as this will be James ' first event, but has quick running pedigree. Tipped to do well and give Jen a run for her money providing his knee holds out and he makes it beyond the start line.
Fraser Duff - 2nd attempt at this event will see me stick to doing the cycling on a mountain bike and the side stroke for the swimming. As for the running, my training for this stage has consisted of jogging to and from the Krispy Kreme shop so I fully expect to post a slower time than the 2hr 50mins I managed in 2005. Oh well, at least the doughnuts will help me float better this year.
Chris Firmin - I will be competing 5 days short of John Wyn-Evans birthday too !! Last two London ' s have been around 2:37 Swim 30-2 Bike 1:15 Run 45, roughly 6 mins transitioning. Haven ' t trained too hard but should still be competitive. Weather critical. Start time 0700 means getting up before going to bed!?!?
Rufus Grantham – 4th Tri coming up but only 2nd at Olympic distance. Time last year was 2 Hr 51 when suffering from recent parent lack of sleep! Reasonable swimmer and cyclist but terrible runner…
Andrew Hogley - Will be the only breast stroke swimmer in the bunch, good on the bike but a plodding style on the run. This is his second attempt at the Olympic distance having completed the London course last year in 3hrs.
Phil Mitchell – Another unknown as is a novice at Olympic distance triathlon, but expect a gritty performance from this muscular Dutch/ Australian half-breed. Should suit the fast, flat track in the run, and always at home in filthy water, but poor technique is exposed on the bike
Jennifer Shields - 2nd and final attempt at the Olympic distance (and no I ' m not planning on doing an Ironman!). Last year ' s race was so painful that when I crossed the finish line, I said never ever again. I ' m now wishing I had taken my own advice! Finished last year in 2 Hr 42.
John Wyn-Evans - will be competing 5 days short of my 45th birthday, so likely to be the oldest person in the 40-44 age-group...unless Firmin has lied about his age again! 3rd successive London Tri. 2004 finished in 2.38, 2005 in 2.35. Going to find it hard to better last year ' s bike leg (1.10), and swimming close to 30 mins remains an unlikely ambition, as most of my energy goes into staying afloat...even in a wetsuit. Running training has been curtailed by Achilles tendon problems, so I ' ll be happy to equal last year ' s time.
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Many thanks for your support.
James, Fraser, Chris, Rufus, Andrew, Phil, Jen and John