Iain Sainsbury
Iain does IRONMAN Switzerland
Fundraising for Children's Hospice South West
Story
Well last year I said I would have to be mad to do a full IRONMAN event...well...you can call me mad! Late last year I signed up for IRONMAN Switzerland (IMCH - http://ironman.ch/en/00_news/00_aktuell.htm ) on Jul 25th 2010!
What does this entail? Well about eight months of over 10-15 hours training a week regardless of weather (and yes running in subzero temperatures really does loose its enjoyment pretty quickly - lowest so far -12!)...and that is the easy part. The event itself is one of the 22 genuine M-Dot IRONMAN qualifying events for the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii (like I am going to ever get there!) it comprises of a 2.4 mile (3.8km) swim, a 112-mile (180km) bike ride and a 26.2 mile (42.2km) run - imagine swimming the Firth-of-Forth twice, cycling from Edinburgh to Aberdeen and then doing a full marathon at the end. But before I even get to the start line I have to train and prepare properly, this will entail a couple of practice races:
13th Mar - Sparks half-marathon road race (at Dorney Lake) - http://www.f3events.com/race_view.php?i=102
9th May - Cotswold Sprint Triathlon (400m lake swim, 20km bike, 5km run) http://www.triferris.com/cotsuper/index.html
22nd May - West Cornwall half-ironman distance triathlon (1900m sea swim, 85km hilly bike, 21km run - yes the same distance I raised money for last year!) - http://www.hayletri.co.uk/middle.html
4th July - Steelman (Olympic Distance event at Dorney Lake - 1500m swim, 40.8km bike, 10km run) http://www.humanrace.co.uk/more-info-on-steelman-triathlon-341.html
Sounds like fun....
So why am I doing it?? Good question....a new challenge...(early) midlife crisis...who knows...what I do know is, that last year when I was having to dig deep on the hills of Wimbleball the thought of all the sponsorship money you had donated really helped me focus and get round. Therefore I have decided to try and raise money for charity again this year. The difference is this year I do not have a target (as I am not going to IMCH on a charity ticket - I have paid for the pleasure!!) I am simply asking for you to donate what you can - please be generous!
So who is the lucky charity this year? I have thought long and hard over this one and I have decided support a relatively small but important charity - Children's Hospice South West and their Precious Lives Appeal (Charity No. 1003314).
The Children's Hospice South West is a charity founded in 1991 to care for children who have illnesses which mean they will die before reaching adulthood. They provide expert care for them, their parents and well siblings. In 1995 Little Bridge House, the South West’s first children’s hospice opened its doors to families from across the South West. Little Bridge House very quickly became oversubscribed, which led to the opening of the charity’s second hospice Charlton Farm located just outside Bristol, in 2007. They are now in the process of raising funds through our Precious Lives Appeal to build our third hospice, in Cornwall, it will be called Little Harbour. This will, by common consent, complete a chain of children’s hospices covering Cornwall, Plymouth, Torbay, Devon, Somerset, North Somerset, Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
The Precious Lives Appeal
This appeal was set up to build Little Harbour which will be the third hospice. It was granted planning permission in March 2009, with completion planned for the end 2011. It will be built on the outskirts of St Austell and will provide a home from home closer to home for the children of Cornwall and Plymouth, enabling the charity to provide more care and support to the families who need it. Like the other hospices, Little Harbour will offer a range of services such as 24 hour palliative care and end of life care, support for parents and well brothers and sisters, as well as help, advice and support in bereavement and beyond. Little Harbour will cost over £5 million to build, it is hoped that with people's generosity it will become a reality and we will be able to welcome families in 2011.
Thankyou very very much in advance if you can help - last year I raised about £1500 (£1700 with the tax added in) I would love to raise more this year please help me do it!
....and finally if you want to stay up to date with how it is going please have a look at my blog! http://www.iaindoestriathlon.blogspot.com/
Best wishes,
Iain.