In November 2019 I signed up for the Barcelona Ironman while sat on a crowded Tokyo commuter train during the Rugby World Cup.  The world was a very different place.  Since then, Covid has changed pretty much everything - and also delayed my Ironman by a year.  But on October 3rd, I managed to get round on a windy and stormy day - which meant a shortened swim before the usual 180km bike ride and marathon run to finish.  

I took on an Ironman to raise money for Resurgo Trust, an incredible charity.  Resurgo is a coaching organisation that gives away its expertise for free through its employability programmes, "Spear" and "Re-Work" - equipping those who face barriers to work with the skills and mindset to overcome them.  More than 7000 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have now done Spear - and 75% of them are in education or employment a year after completing the course, which is a staggering success rate compared to virtually any other employability programme. I've seen time and again the real and lasting difference Resurgo makes - and their work is needed even more right now, when young people in particular face more obstacles than ever.   I know personally just how important their work is (my wife Pip works for Resurgo) and I'm massively impressed by the impact they make.

An Ironman really is a ridiculous challenge for an overweight 50-something to take on.  The last time I ran any distance at all was in 2008 - and that was a one-off.  Cycling to work and chucking balls at my kids is pretty much all the exercise I have done since - not quite enough to offset the impact of all that Guinness and grub.

Training for such a scary challenge has made an incredible impact on my much-abused health.  I've lost about 2 stone and discovered a love of running... but also struggled with calf and achilles injuries in recent months, to the extent that I was not sure beforehand if I would be able to run at all during the event.  (I ended up jogging two thirds and walking the rest - as do many others!)  Pip and the rest of my family put up with my boring training chat and endless early morning starts for far too long... so if only for their sakes, please sponsor me!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.