I have signed up to complete Ironman UK in July 2018. For those who don’t know, this is a long course triathlon which entails me completing consecutively: a 2.4mile open water swim, 112mile bike ride, followed finally by a marathon (26.2mile run).

I started triathlon last summer after barely being able to swim a length of front crawl without swallowing half the pool and nearly drowning last February.

I’m going to be raising money for three very worthy causes:

Firstly, I’m raising money for my school Church Road’s PTA. Our children at Church Road are some of the kindest, most caring and grateful children I have ever met. Many of them don’t have much, yet they’d still give everything they have to make people happy. It would be nice to raise some money for them so that they can enjoy their time at Church Road even more!

Secondly, I’m raising money for Anthony Bowes. Ant is 27 and in July 2016 was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. Many of you know Ant and what an absolutely top chap he is. Ant is undergoing treatment which makes him very sick, yet when you see him, he will always manage to put a smile on your face or make you feel like you’re 10 feet tall. I’d like to raise some money for him to be able to make the most of his time with the people he loves.

Finally, through teaching I’ve met some wonderful children and equally some wonderful families. But I have never met a family quite like the Schofield’s. Unfortunately, Matt was diagnosed with Bile Duct cancer in August 2014, which resulted in him having 2/3 of his liver removed. In 2016 scans showed that the cancer had returned and spread to his lymph nodes. In August 2016, Matt was then diagnosed with another primary cancer of the bowel. In October 2017, Matt, his boys and the rest of their family were rocked by the sudden passing of his beautiful, kind-hearted wife Krista.

Before Krista’s passing, at their request, I decided I would raise money for the AMMF, which is the only Bile Duct Cancer charity. A charity that Krista was passionate about.

Although Krista didn’t know Ant, she was delighted that I was going to raise money for Church Road’s PTA which she was a huge part of and the AMMF, and she regularly came to me with fundraising ideas for the three causes. The only way I know how to do it is by setting up this page! So here it is!

I would love it if you lovely people would be generous enough to put some money towards these causes. I’ve finally worked out how to set a page up, so that I can split the funds raised equally between the three causes with one not being a registered charity!

Thank you in advance for any kind donations, however big or small.