Having completed a sprint triathlon with hardly any training in August 2023, I have well and truly fallen in love with pushing my body past my mental barriers, and what I thought I was capable of. So, slightly crazily, I have signed myself up for a 70.3 Half Ironman in June 2024... in Denmark! (Wouldn't be me without combining some travel in there too!). And Sophie being the AMAZING CRAZY MEDIC SHE IS has been mad enough to agree to be ropes into my mental plan🤣😝

A 70.3 Ironman includes a 1.9km swim, a 90k bike, and a half marathon to finish. Easy, right? pfft. Thats about 6.5 hours of continuous competition, and so as well as the physical aspect of the race, its equally as tough working out nutrition as to not collapse prior to the finish line... petrified lol.

HOLLY: However, battering my body for 'fun' isn't the only reason i'll be doing this challenge- my biggest one yet, and probably ever... Both my parents have suffered life changing diseases, but both ones that are hidden from public view. And so, for each, i have chosen one charity to support, who's research and work helps to reduce stigma, and increase treatment of these diseases.

My mum suffers with Chron's disease. She has battled with this autoimmune disease, (your body attacks itself), for around 20 years. The disease can consist of latent periods, and flare-ups. During a flare up, it can fully dictate your life. With symptoms of pain, and bowel incontinence, it impacts your ability to sleep, work, socialise, play sports, even simple things we take for granted, and even moan about, like going food shopping. And what's worse is those symptoms are ones that people can't see, and therefore people automatically assume 'well she looks fine?', and 'what's the problem, she was doing XYZ last week?'. But would you really like to tell all of your friends about troubles making it to the toilet? And about blood, and mucus? Well of course not, you'd try to conceal it, and avoid an embarrassing conversation. Just like us women do re our periods every month, even though thats a healthy human bodily cycle. But the issue here is that it shouldn't be embarrassing. If the disease was more widely known about, people might start to understand why you need to skip a long queue for the ladies room, or why on a flight as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off you should have priority, why you may need to leave a work meeting abruptly, and in worst case scenario in the event of an accident, how people can help you rather than judge you. Nobody should be made to feel like a child because of a condition they have no control over. And moreover, nobody should have to feel like they have to suffer in silence down to embarrassment.

The charity Chrons and Colitis UK works on reducing this stigma, and for more than 30 years, have been leading research activities that build evidence and create insight into the lived experiences, causes, and best treatments. My mum is currently within a flare up, that has been ongoing for the last 2 years. Unfortunately none of the medications that have previously worked are working this time round, so the need for research into more treatments is more apparent to me than ever. The most draining thing about the disease is that, unlike other diseases, there is genuinely nothing those that are suffering can do. (And nothing I can even do to help other than provide emotional support, and of course do this fundraiser!). It's not like a torn ligament that you can do physio on (cause best believe mum would be ON IT), it's your OWN body attacking itself from the inside out. Imagine that.

My dad was diagnosed with and treated for Prostate Cancer just over 6 years ago. He has had numerous operations- to remove the disease and then to improve function. I was in secondary school at the time, and even my own Dad kept details from me, giving it the 'oh i had the operation yesterday everything was fine' rather than telling me in advance, thinking it was an embarrassing topic to discuss with a daughter. Well i can't tell you the amount of times i've had a go at him for keeping me out of the loop with his health lol. 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer, and if you’re over 50, you’re black, or your dad or brother had it, you’re at even higher risk. Prostate Cancer UK has completed incredible work over 27 years- world class research into treatments, screening programs, awareness, etc. And as a result of their work my dads cancer was caught quickly enough, and removed, and he has been able to carry on with everyday life- a very different outcome to those who would have been diagnosed prior to the charities foundation.

SOPHIE: (Thanks Hols for taking care of all the sciencey bits xx) I’m clearly as nuts as Holly (almost) because I’m going to be joining her for the 70.3 in Elisnore, Denmark. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a little while – this is the year.

I’m just about a runner, and I’ve at least *owned* a bike for a month now. I’ve been training as a powerlifter for the last 2-3 years and anyone familiar with powerlifters knows we have a strong allergy to cardio – this is out of my comfort zone. But it wouldn’t be a challenge if it was comfortable. It's a TRYathlon after all, and hopefully, I’ll be able to cheerlead Holly over the finish line if she hasn’t gone haring off like the absolute speedster she is!

We recently lost lovely Mick in April to prostate cancer. I describe him to people as my “non-biological grandfather”. He took care of everything alive on the farm and in the wood where we lived – including me and my siblings. My memories of him from when I was little are so so vivid, probably because they are so so important. He was always out in nature, where he was made to be. But cancer took that from him. For me, the race and all the training is in his memory and I know he will be with me – “bloody hell Soph!”

A dear friend who is ever so important to my family was also recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent surgery a few weeks ago. I am so unbelievably happy that he is now recovering well.

As friends and family, you want to do everything that you can to be there. To somehow make it even a little bit better. Hopefully our donations will mean that we can all be there for people across the country going through the unimaginable.

We are hugely grateful for any donations you can spare 😊 and if that’s not an option for you, we are hugely grateful for anyone sharing our page . We will be sharing our training journeys on our socials so if you want to watch us from start to finish you can find us on there.

Peace & love xx