Ladles and Jelly-spoons: On July 17th 2016 I will be competing in Ironman UK. Alongside Robert Downey Jnr, I’ll take on possibly the toughest single-day endurance event in the world.

In Bolton.

For those that don’t know, the Ironman event is gruelling. In sequence, and with no rest in-between, I’ll undertake: A 3.8 km swim, 180 km cycling, and just when I’ll want to collapse on the floor and give up, a cheeky 42km run.

That’s a total of 226Km, or for the imperial amongst us,140.6 miles (Oh, and there is the small matter that it must be completed within 17 hours). When you consider I’ve been past my sell-by date for at least a decade, had a total hip replacement 2 years ago and have the hairline of a geriatric tortoise, you’ll get a sense of the challenge facing me…

Why Paul, you ask, would you put yourself through this baffling torture? Well, Perhaps it’s the challenge; perhaps it’s the finisher’s medal and obligatory tattoo; perhaps it’s the fact that I will for evermore be known as an ‘Ironman’ (but unfortunately not the Robert Downey Jr. type) or, perhaps it’s an effective way to raise funds for a worthwhile charity. Perhaps it is a mixture of them all.

I’m fundraising to support the amazing work of SCOPE. It would be great if you could donate and share my page with other people, so I can raise as much money as possible to help them provide support, information and advice to disabled people and their families.

The dark, early morning and late night training sessions have already started. Training for 6 months, and competing in an Ironman, usually pushes athletes mentally and physically so far out of their comfort zones that they need binoculars to see their regular path. So, although it may at times seem like I’m an incredibly stylish Super Hero with an outstanding knowledge of obscure 90’s Britpop who breezes through life at a canter, to get through this, I need some help. I need to know it’s been worthwhile. So please, if you can, dig deep and donate to this fantastic cause.

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.

Any help you can give is appreciated.

Cheers.

Paul G.