Updated on Jul 25th 2011 at 8:53 PM from the JustGiving API

Completed. 12hrs 14mins and 52secs. Legs are tired now but feeling great. Really enjoyed the while day. Thank you for all your support It really helped me along. Thank you

Updated on Jul 23rd 2011 at 8:54 PM from the JustGiving API

Hi all. Thank you for all your generous donations. Knowing that l have all your support will really help me finish tomorrow. Thank you.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The Event

On the 24th of July at 6am l will competing in "The Outlaw" triathlon in Nottingham. This is a long distance triathlon better known as an Ironman. The race begins at 6am with a 2.4mile swim in Holme Pier Point rowing lake, a 112mile bike ride around the undulating hills north of Nottingham and ends with a marathon around the lake and along the River Trent banks.

My aim is to complete the course in 14 hours or less (maximum race time of 17hrs). My longest race to date was a Half Ironman triathlon last year in Bala (Wales) - which l completed in 5hrs 28min. However, this is an altogether mightier challenge. Training started last September and has built to an average of 5 – 6 hours nearly every day,  with 5.30am weekend starts to travel to the local swimming lake for a long brick session – (1hr plus swim, 4-6hr bike and 1-2hr run). It has been a very long and tiring 10 months!

I have decided to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society as dementia has affected two people is my life. My grandma passed away a few years ago with the disease and my girlfriend’s mother has dementia at an early age.

The Alzheimer’s Society

Is the leading support and research charity for people with dementia, their families and carers. It supports reasearch programmes and campaigns for better education and government support. It provides services such as information, education, support and care to help people with dementia live their lives to the full. Local community support can range from running dementia cafes and providing information, dementia advisers and day care. Cafes provide people affected by dementia the opportunity to meet others in a similar situation for education, support and social interaction. The dementia adviser service provides an outreach service to people living with dementia and their families offering them emotional support, information and advice.

Facts about Dementia

·         There are 750,000 people with dementia in the UK with numbers set to rise to one million by 2021

·         Currently only 40% of people with dementia receive a diagnosis, but delaying the onset of dementia by 5 years, would reduce deaths directly attributable to dementia by 30,000 a year

·         The financial cost of dementia to the UK is over £20 billion a year

·         Family carers of people with dementia save the UK over £6 billion a year

·         One in three people over 65 will die with dementia

·         Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain and can affect anyone

The effect on sufferers and their families is extremely devastating and distressing - there is currently no cure.

If you would like to learn more, please visit http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/.

How You Can Help

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. Your donation can really make a difference, for example

·         Just £5 could pay for one person to attend a half hour session at a monthly Dementia Café, providing information and support for people with dementia and their carers in an informal setting

·         Just £10 could enable a person with dementia and their carer to have one-to-one dedicated time with an experienced support worker, helping them to access the support services and specific advice they need

·         Just £20 could support a researcher for a day with the equipment and chemicals needed to develop better treatment in the fight against dementia

Knowing that I am running to raise money for this worthwhile cause will help spur me on during those really dark moments. So please dig deep and donate now.