I have been involved in Duathlon racing for several years and managed to qualified to represent Great Britain last year to compete in my age group in the 2017 ITU Standard Distance Duathlon World Championships in Canada where I finished 17th

Standard distance Duathlon's are generally a 10 km run followed by a 40 km bike ride and completed with 5km run. The fastest total time including transitions wins the race, I enjoy racing this as it is a great mix between speed, endurance and technical precision. Training for these events require serious commitment over a prolonged period of time to arrive on the start line in the best shape possible. Although I enjoy the physical challenge, it is also a financial commitment which I discovered last year when I qualified to compete in Canada. There is no financial support for the Age Group Athletes and competing comes at a cost as it is down to each individual athlete to support themselves in terms of kit, equipment, coaching, insurance, race entry fees, travel, subsistence etc.

After another year of training, I have again successfully qualified, through competing in the National Duathlon Championships at Clumber Park in May 2018, to represent Team GB for my Age Group 45 – 49 at the ITU Standard Distance Duathlon World Championships which will be held in Odense, Denmark on the 6th July. I am looking forward to compete and represent my country again and with this fundraising effort I’m looking for support to help with the expenses associated with my participation in this event. So far I have managed to find a main sponsor a local company UPC which is fantastic but I am still in need of some further funds. I am hoping that in Denmark I can pre qualifying for the 2019 race which is to be held in Spain this would provide me with the fantastic opportunity of a full years training to plan and focus on my further development.

With the experiences gained through racing for Team GB last year I have taken an assembly at the local primary school to speak about my experiences and to share my enthusiasm for sport and fitness in general and the fact that in later life we are still able to pursue our sporting goals and achieve a high level of sporting achievement with hard work and perseverance.

Thank you all for taking time to read this and any donation will be gratefully received.