Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

This year, on August 11th, marks the 7th year anniversary since Tiggy was killed instantly in the crash that also killed her grandfather Richard & one of his 2 dogs in a lay bye on the A1southbound near Gosforth Park, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Although it seems like just yesterday, it will be a whole 7 years since she died - the same number of years that she lived for.  Her 7th birthday was just 16 days before the crash in the summer holidays 2008.

Her younger sisters Poppy & Otalia have grown up beautifully & have overtaken her in age and size & yet oddly she is still their older sister.

We all wonder how tall she'd be, how she'd have her hair, what size her feet would be, what clothes she'd like to wear & what she'd be up to.

With the above seeming like a poignant time & significant milestone I again wanted to attempt a great challenge in her memory in the hopes to raise money for BRAKE the road safety charity.  Their work helps prevent deaths from road crashes & also gives invaluable support to those whose lives have been devastated by losing loved ones on the roads.

My main & biggest challenge this year is the ISOMAN triathlon full distance on July 18th......

A 7 mile lake swim followed by a 62 mile bike ride with a marathon 26.2 mile run to finish.......... just getting thro all the training required to get to the start line is going to be a huge challenge in itself for my 41 year old reluctant body!

What started out 3 years ago (3 years after my Cancer diagnosis & treatments ) as swimming for relaxation, hiding & a way to feel close to Tiggy (who loved swimming & was as graceful as a swan on top of the water & all full of smiles under the water) has developed into a positive way of life for me.  Swimming, cycling & running all help to keep my body strong, my mind clearer & happier, give me goals to work towards & above all I meet people who are great fun, kind, generous & supportive who share similar mad interests.

As part of my preparation for the ISOMAN I am taking part in some long distance sea swims in Mallorca at the end of May.  7km,5km & 2km races - no wetsuits allowed.  I'm hoping not to see any sharks or get stung by any jellies.

The last 2 challenges of this year (in September) will be a 5.25mile (8.4km) lake swim along the length of lake Coniston & the following weekend a 10 mile (16.1km) end to end swim of lake Windermere.

In an ideal world I'd hope that no further road crashes would happen but that is not realistic so, if, sadly other people also lose a loved one/loved ones in a road crash then I hope that they too are as well supported as we were in those early days by BRAKE & our police FLOs.

Please keep visiting this page as I hope to update it as I get through the various challenges!

Thank you

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