We are Cait Davis, Clare Burgum and Zelda Wilson....... and we are training to complete Ironman Barcelona on 7th October 2018 (that’s swimming, cycling and running a total of 140.6 miles in a day under our own steam!) to support a courageous, resilient and inspiring young man called Xander Van Der Poll.

On the 24th of May 2018 Xander, a first year medical student at Bristol University, took a break from first year exam revision, and climbed a favourite tree in his local park. Xander fell from that tree onto a protruding root, shattering his T12 vertebrae and leaving him paralysed. After emergency surgery he was put on six weeks flat bed rest – initially at Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry and then he continued his rehabilitation at the spinal care unit at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry.

As of the beginning of September, Xander is now continuing his rehabilitation at home in the Midlands - and as you can see from the updates he continues to push boundaries, identify and strive towards challenging goals.

You can follow Xander's Instagram blog at six_weeks_in_bed . Take a look – his attitude, courage and resilience are inspiring. His mum, our dear friend Karen, is also keeping us abreast of progress on Facebook at One Step Closer.

We are hoping the funds we raise will enable him to get back to his sporting adventures – or excel at new ones.

Please help us to help Xander. Your contribution is hugely appreciated.

Best wishes, Clare, Zelda and Cait x