Rob Peake
Rob Peake's Fundraising Page
Fundraising for Weldmar Hospicecare
Story
Thursday, 11 Sept:
"ROB PEAKE, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!"
Well, that's what the announcer told me at the finish, and I wasn't about to argue!
It was a good moment, made even better because I knew that incredibly, donations now total a whopping £3,151 including tax.
That is far, far more than I ever expected to raise and makes all those ridiculous training runs/rides/swims totally worthwhile.
After a fairly torturous year of training, the day itself was, strangely, massively enjoyable.
Unfortunately I didn't knacker my legs so much I couldn't make it to work this week, but there's always next year (er, not actually).
It was up at 3am for breakfast, then after driving to Sherborne Castle, at 5.55am we were all in the lake waiting for the gun.
It was meant to start at 6am but they kindly kept us floating around in the water until 6.30am, apparently for the sun to come up.
Then the hooter went and madness ensued - for the first 1km you could barely take a full stroke. There were bodies everywhere, people swimming over me, I was swimming over them, people hitting me in the head, knocking goggles, feet and other body parts!
Around the buoys you didn't have to swim, you were just carried round in a human tide. Never again will I complain about the crowds in my local pool!
On the second lap it all spaced out and you could actually swim normally, then it was good fun and I finished the 4km in 1hr 25mins.
Not very quick but I was still grateful of the two guys hauling us out of the water at the end. A bit unsteady on the feet. One guy next to me was shaking like a leaf with hypothermia. Poor sod, the end of his race right there.
I pulled on my bike kit and rode off for a quick 112 miles around hilly north Dorset.
The bike was great fun, lots of supporters and kids yelling, but very windy. Unfortunately I had stomach cramps at the start, possibly because of the cold water, so couldn't eat any of the energy bars you're meant to feast on. Not very comfortable but things calmed down eventually and I started scoffing the necessary calories.
About 2000m of climbing overall so the legs weren’t exactly fresh at the end but I finished feeling not too bad. 7hrs 10mins.
The run was 3 laps around Sherborne Castle grounds and the town itself, where the crowds were packing the railings. The organisers had included some lovely hills just in case we weren't feeling totally knackered already.
The first two laps were utterly demoralising, with each mile marker just making me groan with despair. “Oh God I’ve only done 7 miles!” It seemed like a long way home. Luckily 'Team Rob', clothed unbeknownst to me in some classy t-shirts bearing my gruesome torso, kept me going with some insane pavement support.
The final lap I realised I had to run the whole way to make my goal of 14 hours, so I kept the feet stumbling along and came around into the finish straight to see the overhead clock reading 13hrs 55 mins.
At that point I was one seriously happy man. Kathy and my mum Sue were there too. A very good moment indeed.
I don’t think I’d do another in a hurry – Kathy might dump me apart from anything else. I am going to dedicate my life to the pursuit of alcohol and fatty foods for a few months.
Thankyou to everyone for your support – I’m sure I was aware of some energy vibes coming at me through the airwaves on the day, and the thought of such a big amount going to the hospice and Trust really kept me going on the run, really!
I will be contacting everyone in the coming days with some photos for your amusement and to say thankyou properly.
But for now, thankyou very, very much.
Rob
On 7 September I will be getting up at 4am, eating a giant bowl of porridge and, dressed in my finest lycra, setting off for about 14 hours of swimming, biking and running in an Ironman triathlon.
Naturally, it’s all for an excellent cause.
My father John was cared for by the Joseph Weld Hospice, now part of Weldmar Hospicecare Trust, in 2000 and 2001.
He couldn’t possibly have been looked after better, and since then I’ve wanted to do something to say thankyou to the nurses and the hospice.
Barring a few minor fun runs, it’s taken me until now to organise something which I hope merits the kind of amount I would like to raise.
For anyone unaware of what this peculiar Ironman event entails, I will be:
- swimming 2.5 miles in a lake (should take about 1hr 30mins)
- cycling 112 miles (should take about 7hrs)
- running a marathon (should take about 4hrs but could take two weeks).
Believe it or not, there will be 1,499 other wetsuited men and women on the 6am start line at Sherborne Castle in North Dorset, and we all have until 11pm to finish the course.
Easy!
Whatever happens, it will be worth it if I raise some money for this excellent cause. I would be forever grateful if you would donate a small amount.
Thankyou!
Rob
"ROB PEAKE, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!"
Well, that's what the announcer told me at the finish, and I wasn't about to argue!
It was a good moment, made even better because I knew that incredibly, donations now total a whopping £3,151 including tax.
That is far, far more than I ever expected to raise and makes all those ridiculous training runs/rides/swims totally worthwhile.
After a fairly torturous year of training, the day itself was, strangely, massively enjoyable.
Unfortunately I didn't knacker my legs so much I couldn't make it to work this week, but there's always next year (er, not actually).
It was up at 3am for breakfast, then after driving to Sherborne Castle, at 5.55am we were all in the lake waiting for the gun.
It was meant to start at 6am but they kindly kept us floating around in the water until 6.30am, apparently for the sun to come up.
Then the hooter went and madness ensued - for the first 1km you could barely take a full stroke. There were bodies everywhere, people swimming over me, I was swimming over them, people hitting me in the head, knocking goggles, feet and other body parts!
Around the buoys you didn't have to swim, you were just carried round in a human tide. Never again will I complain about the crowds in my local pool!
On the second lap it all spaced out and you could actually swim normally, then it was good fun and I finished the 4km in 1hr 25mins.
Not very quick but I was still grateful of the two guys hauling us out of the water at the end. A bit unsteady on the feet. One guy next to me was shaking like a leaf with hypothermia. Poor sod, the end of his race right there.
I pulled on my bike kit and rode off for a quick 112 miles around hilly north Dorset.
The bike was great fun, lots of supporters and kids yelling, but very windy. Unfortunately I had stomach cramps at the start, possibly because of the cold water, so couldn't eat any of the energy bars you're meant to feast on. Not very comfortable but things calmed down eventually and I started scoffing the necessary calories.
About 2000m of climbing overall so the legs weren’t exactly fresh at the end but I finished feeling not too bad. 7hrs 10mins.
The run was 3 laps around Sherborne Castle grounds and the town itself, where the crowds were packing the railings. The organisers had included some lovely hills just in case we weren't feeling totally knackered already.
The first two laps were utterly demoralising, with each mile marker just making me groan with despair. “Oh God I’ve only done 7 miles!” It seemed like a long way home. Luckily 'Team Rob', clothed unbeknownst to me in some classy t-shirts bearing my gruesome torso, kept me going with some insane pavement support.
The final lap I realised I had to run the whole way to make my goal of 14 hours, so I kept the feet stumbling along and came around into the finish straight to see the overhead clock reading 13hrs 55 mins.
At that point I was one seriously happy man. Kathy and my mum Sue were there too. A very good moment indeed.
I don’t think I’d do another in a hurry – Kathy might dump me apart from anything else. I am going to dedicate my life to the pursuit of alcohol and fatty foods for a few months.
Thankyou to everyone for your support – I’m sure I was aware of some energy vibes coming at me through the airwaves on the day, and the thought of such a big amount going to the hospice and Trust really kept me going on the run, really!
I will be contacting everyone in the coming days with some photos for your amusement and to say thankyou properly.
But for now, thankyou very, very much.
Rob
On 7 September I will be getting up at 4am, eating a giant bowl of porridge and, dressed in my finest lycra, setting off for about 14 hours of swimming, biking and running in an Ironman triathlon.
Naturally, it’s all for an excellent cause.
My father John was cared for by the Joseph Weld Hospice, now part of Weldmar Hospicecare Trust, in 2000 and 2001.
He couldn’t possibly have been looked after better, and since then I’ve wanted to do something to say thankyou to the nurses and the hospice.
Barring a few minor fun runs, it’s taken me until now to organise something which I hope merits the kind of amount I would like to raise.
For anyone unaware of what this peculiar Ironman event entails, I will be:
- swimming 2.5 miles in a lake (should take about 1hr 30mins)
- cycling 112 miles (should take about 7hrs)
- running a marathon (should take about 4hrs but could take two weeks).
Believe it or not, there will be 1,499 other wetsuited men and women on the 6am start line at Sherborne Castle in North Dorset, and we all have until 11pm to finish the course.
Easy!
Whatever happens, it will be worth it if I raise some money for this excellent cause. I would be forever grateful if you would donate a small amount.
Thankyou!
Rob