I am competing in this year’s IronmanUK 70.3 Triathlon. The very first 70.3 race to ever exist. This Exmoor event has now taken on an iconic status, and fills to capacity each and every year as its reputation as being the ‘toughest 70.3 in the world’ grows and grows. 

This race comprises of a 1.2 mile open water swim. Followed by a 56 mile bike ride (including 1748m of climbing), then a 13.1 mile run. All of that in about 7 hours. The UK course (Wimbleball, North Devon) is acknowledged as one of the toughest, if not the toughest, on the Ironman international calendar.

To get me into the right condition, training is six days of the week, often involving multiple sessions in a given day. I have a busy not to mention physical work life running Bartlett’s Carpets with my brother Richard. Juggling time between the business, training, and my little boys Archie (4) and Charlie (1) is dedication in itself.

I have pledged to raise sponsorship money for Stalbridge Doctors Surgery and Rotary International. As I have lived in Stalbridge all my life I wanted to raise money for our local community and felt that donating to the Surgery would benefit everyone from young through to the old. Rotary will channel 50% of your donation to the Stalbridge Surgery Donation Account and the remainder to their nominated charities; Alzheimer’s, Children's Hospices, Air Ambulance, cancer charities (Leukaemia Research, Marie Curie, CLIC Sarjent, Macmillan), Life Education Centres, Help for Heroes and other causes in southwest England.

Your support means so much to me. Every pound we raise together will go to a range of amazing charities helping people here in the UK. I will not let you, or them, down. Please remember to tick the gift aid if applicable as it makes a big difference.

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.