I'm not sure whether I should keep the standard "JustGiving" blurb, which has been prepared by experts and designed to encourage you to donate as much as possible, or write something personal, written by someone who failed English O Level, and couldn't sell piss in a brewery (or whatever the phrase is).

I'm going to hedge my bets and do both.

I'm taking part in the 2012 London Olympic Triathlon.  No, not that one - it's the Virgin one, on September 23rd.  It's 1500m swim, followed by 40km cycle, followed by 10km run.  On the same day.  One immediately after the other.  And I'm doing it for charity.

But which one?  Well, the short story is Aspire  (See top right).  

There is a long story too.... You can either read it, or skip to the bottom to read the JustGiving stuff in bold.

It could have been one of many charities.  I've got quite a few things I feel passionately about.  Some of which even have charities associated with them.  However, after a night of soul-searching with a bottle of wine, I narrowed it down to three.

1) Asthma UK.  I've had asthma ever since I was a kid.  It stopped me from doing any proper exercise until a few years ago, when a new wonder drug changed my life.  I did my first, Novice-distance triathlon shortly after. 

2) Diabetes UK.  I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last year.  Very unusual for someone "of my age"  (adding insult to injury).  This disease is nasty and horrible.  There is no cure.  When Steve Redgrave got diagnosed, he was told that he would have to give up rowing. Instead he won his 5th gold medal.  When I was diagnosed, I was told that I would never do a triathlon again.  I managed my first Sprint-distance triathlon a few months later.

Then, one day when I was cycling to work, I got hit by a truck.  And broke my back in three places.

I was lucky - I was back walking in three weeks.  However it took a lot longer to start again with the whole swimming, cycling and running stuff. It was hard and painful, and although I am now pretty much recovered, I'm a lot slower than I used to be.

I'm also a lot fatter too, but that's a different story.

A very good friend of mine was also involved in a car accident.  She wasn't so lucky.  She told me about Aspire, a spinal injuries charity.  They've helped her, and she has helped them.  She inspires me every day.  So, really, in the end, the choice was easy.  

Oh, and they give me a free t-shirt.  You wouldn't believe the things I'd do for a free t-shirt.

 

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.