"Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to everyone so far as we have had a great reponse and the genoristy of everyone has been amazing. As some people may have noticed we have had to open a second page due to technical issues with our initial page closing early (all money kindly donated has been processed successfully). The first page had such a good response and raised nearly 60% of the target. The last 40% is going to be so important with helping Christian prepare mentally for the event. Christian is travelling on his own and has already invested so much time and money as well as family life sacrifices into this project. It would be a huge shame after all the initially generosity if Christian could't prepare for his race properly. This may come in the form of doubt about the finical repercussions of the event which can start a cycle of questions no athlete at his level needs to face, especially before a world championship event. That being said I am sure anyone who has been thinking about donating, or wanted to donate on the first page but couldn't, can really help bring this home. There is 13 days until the flag drops and Christian gets to prove to everyone how hard he has worked. Lets do this!"

- Will Draper 01.10.18

Christian Varley started his journey into triathlon less than a year ago. Coming from an elite cycling background and then competitive running, it has taken him less than 10 months to finish on the podium for his age group in Bolton, the UK’s official IRONMAN Triathlon. This has qualified Christian for the 2018 World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Travelling over 7000 miles with a bike, wetsuit and other equipment is no affordable task. The stand alone cost of top level equipment in triathlon is huge; but cannot be avoided unless you want to have lost time before the race has even started.

I know first hand how much time, money and effort Christian has invested into IRONMAN racing. Balancing his work with his partner Rachel and new baby daughter, Hallie is hard enough without training for a 3.86 km swim, a 180.25 km bike ride and a marathon run (42.20 km).

It would be devastating for Christian to miss out on this opportunity that he has worked so hard for. The physical and mental demands of IRONMAN athletes is hard enough without having uncertainty on whether you will even make it to the start line. Knowing how hard Christian works and the sacrifices he makes, if I could afford to pay for the whole trip I would.

Unfortunately I cannot afford to pay for the whole trip; But what I can do is appeal to all of Christian’s friends and family, as well as those who have seen his story from the side, to each make a small donation. If I am the only person to donate, I know that Christian would try and give me my money back. However I don't want to see a few pounds back in my bank account, I want to see an athlete who thought his career was over many years ago, prove himself wrong, and get to the start line of the 2018 IRONMAN World Championships.

Thank you for taking the time to read this page and hopefully we can come together to support Manx sporting success.

*In the event of Christian being unable to attend the event due to injury, illness, finances or another cause, the donations will be given to the Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation (Registered Charity no. 937).

I would also like to thank those who have helped Christian out with his journey so far which includes SAS Events, Asia Fresh, Zone 3, Conister Bank, Crowe, Casp, Apollo Blinds and Watts Up Coaching.

Hopefully this JustGiving page will help Christian in the short term, however any sponsors who have seen his story and would like to contact him personally, please follow the directions on his website of https://www.christianvarley.com/sponsorship