The Background ... Having run the Great North Run in 2010, I needed a reason and a bigger challenge to put myself through that again. As if running 13.1 miles isn’t enough!! Clearly inspired by the Olympics (or Victoria Pendleton) I have spent the winter months taking to the road a couple of times a week on my bike and I'm hooked.

The 2013 Challenge ... this started with my deferred place in the Great North Run (September) and an interest in the 52 mile Great Manchester Cycle (June). However, if that wasn't going to be tough enough, with a little encouragement and by being just a tad competitive I'm doing the Great North Swim, an outdoor event in the Lake District 2 weeks before the bike ride. It's been a long time since I swam competitively, probably 20 years!!  Please get behind #TeamPete.

The Reason ... Like in 2010, I'm doing this again for my Gran. She died in October 2011, having suffered with dementia for a number of years. Once taken into permanent care in 2009, she was no longer able to watch me play cricket on a weekend, having missed maybe only a handful of games since i started playing, which is now quite a long time ago. I remember the trips she made to Lord's, Derby, the Riverside, and everywhere around the North East just to sit and watch or sleep whenever I was playing.

Unfortunately, dementia is such an awful illness for which there is currently no known cure. This illness denied such an active lady of life as she knew it and so enjoyed during her last years, which made it desperately hard for her close family to witness, having cared for her at home for as long as possible.

Anyone who knows me will no doubt have met my Gran at some point or will have heard or know just how close I was to her, so just doing the Great North Run for her this time really wouldn’t be enough. She was a demanding lady, with such high standards that this needed to be more. So by swimming a mile in the freezing open water of Lake Windermere and cycling 52 miles around Manchester I’m raising the bar for Gran in June, and then run the Great North Run again in September to beat my 2010 time.

Sponsorship ... If you could sponsor me that would be brilliant, however small or large as I'd like to do this challenge in memory of Gran but also to support the Alzheimer's Society in the search for a cure and improving the treatment of this life shattering illness.

Targets … To give you an idea of my targets, £500 could pay for two sessions of a Carers’ Programme for 12 carers to provide  practical tips and strategies to cope with the impact of dementia. £1,000 could pay for one person to visit a dementia café every week for a whole year providing information and support to people with dementia and their families in an informal setting.

Training has been underway since January 2013.

Thanks for reading.

Peter Howells

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter @growler_33 for updates on training and donations, and use #TeamPete.

To Gran ...

"Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
Im thinking of the days,
I wont forget a single day, believe me."

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.