Update 2: North-West triathlon was much more enjoyable and generally went according to plan. Completed the event in 1:29:32, so broke the magic one-and-a-half hour mark, which pleases me no end and makes me feel as though I've earned these donations. Saving up for a racing bike so I can have a proper go next year, but don't worry, that'll just be for fun, so no more begging from me!
Thanks again for all your contributions, much love, MC
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Update: I completed the South Coast triathlon in just under 1 hour 35 minutes, but the swim did not go well due to the strong winds and several-foot high waves, which meant I didn't complete the swim course properly in order to avoid drowning. So, in order to redeem myself I am having another go, this time at the North-West sprint triathlon in Nantwich on September 20th.
Thanks to all who have donated so far, to those who haven't, there's still time!
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Hi Everybody,
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
On 15th August 2009, I shall be attempting my first ever triathlon down on the south coast at Seaford, near Brighton. This entails swimming 750m, cycling 20km and then running 5km, which admittedly is not quite Olympic distance, but even so I find the official title of 'sprint triathlon' to be a bit of a misnomer, as in my humble opinion any sporting endeavour that takes at least an hour and a half to complete can't really be rightly described as a 'sprint'!
Anyway, this all came about after the Bristol 10k that I competed in May (see photo above). The 10k was something I signed up for in January as part of my new year's resolution to be slightly less of a fat lazy git (I reached 13 stone for the first time ever over Christmas, not good!). The idea was that it would be a stepping stone towards a half marathon in September, but I got a bit bored of just running, so thought why not try a triathlon?
Why not? Because I'm not a very good swimmer, (bottom group at school, only got my bronze medal by picking the brick up with my feet when the instructor wasn't looking!), and because until the start of 2009 I hadn't been on a bike since I was at school and doing my paper round, that's why not! But, undeterred, I had a scout around for an event matching my ambition and 'ability' and found the Fun2Tri series which offered a range of triathlons for all abilities, ideal for beginners.
What sealed the deal was that one of the Fun2Tri series' designated charities was the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre, which provides impartial advice, support and access to information for those affected by MS. This is a hugely worthwhile charity which is close to the hearts of both myself and my family, so the chance to help them out was one that I could not turn down.
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, any help you can give in our credit-crunched times would be extremely greatly appreciated by both myself and the MSRC.
Thank you so much,
Mark x
