Hello and thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Those of you who know me well will be aware that I like to challenge myself. I've been doing triathlon for 4 years now, and have wanted to try my hand at Ironman for most of that time, but this will be quite a step up from anything I have done before (in fact it is double the distance of the longest race I've done to date).

For those sane people out there that don't spend half their lives in lycra swimming, running and biking, an Ironman is a long-distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run, raced in that order and without a break.  At a total of 140.6 miles (226.31 km) this is likely to be a very long day of continual racing - well over 12 hours (but hopefully under the 15hr cut off time!).

I will be doing the race in Frankfurt on Sunday 7th July 2013 (more details can be found on the website www.ironmanfrankfurt.com). When I know my race number I will put information on here that will allow you to ‘track me’ live via your computer/ mobile device to see my progress during the race (thankfully there is not live video streaming so you will not be able to see the pain on my face!).

Given the amount of time that I will be out there for, and the amount of training I’ve had to do even to get to the start line, I thought it would be great to have some extra motivation to keep me going through those difficult miles. This is where you come in!

I have decided to raise money to support the ground-breaking research that the University of Birmingham carries out into breast cancer. This is a cause that is close to me personally as I know several people that have been affected by the disease and one colleague who sadly lost her fight with breast cancer. As an alumnus of the University (and now a member of staff) I am keen to support the sector-leading and life-saving research that is carried out in Edgbaston and hope that you are able to give what you can to support this cause (even if it is as little as £1).

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women in the UK. Some women are at a very high risk of developing the disease. New approaches are being developed by the University of Birmingham to address which women are most at risk and how to treat them. The University of Birmingham has increased early diagnosed breast cancer survival rates by 30%.

If I reach my fundraising target of £1,000 the money will be used towards funding PhD students for three years to help research new drugs and treatments for cancer. It will also be used to help fund specialised microscopes that will allow researchers to see much more detail inside cells than traditional microscopes do. All contributions will make a difference in the fight against cancer.  

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you! Vickie x