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. I think we are going to smash my goal of £800 which was just a small contribution I was hoping to achieve for Christian. Costings for flights, accommodation and equipment is going to be well in excess of my initial £800 target so I have set a new, ambitious target of £2500 which over the next 44 days I hope we can achieve together! Every Penny helps!

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