Hi all,

On the 9th of June I am going to be taking part in the Ironman 70.3 challenge to raise money for a charity my Mum has been involved with called "Story - Funding Melanoma Research", Melanoma being something she has been fighting for nearly six years now. This challenge will have me doing a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile cycle and finishes with a 13.1 mile run to make up the full 70.3 miles, all of which I hope to complete in seven hours!

Here is a note from Dr Ajaz, my Mum’s Oncologist and Trustee to Story FMR:

"Story FMR is a melanoma charity. We have been inspired by melanoma stories to make a difference to this disease, to take the incredible advances of the last five years and to try to find new and better solutions where there are still areas of significant need and suffering. Immunotherapy can now bring melanoma under lasting control, but it does not work for everyone, and we need to work out why, and how in particular to personalise therapy to individual situations in real time. Our Trustee Board is discussing the best way to achieve this, and the current favoured option is to fund a major three-year laboratory research fellowship dedicated entirely to melanoma, working towards the development of new therapeutic approaches to develop a clinically meaningful impact on patients and hopefully save more lives.

I have had the absolute honour and privilege to work with Jack's mother during her melanoma journey, and her fortitude and steadfast approach to the project have been inspirational. We have a vision, which is that we have a comprehensive toolbox to bring every melanoma under control within the next 10 years. Every instance of the disease we engage with makes us more fiercely determined to make that the case. I know your fundraising will be primarily for Jack and his family, but Story is honoured to be the beneficiary and we are hugely grateful to you for your support. Every penny that Jack is able to raise will be spent on targeted melanoma research and we will make it count."

Training begins now, any donations would be greatly appreciated whatever the size x