As I write this, my wonderful other half Gareth has no idea that he will be completing not one, but two triathlons in 2016 - having never completed one before. We have had a wonderful year and can’t imagine being happier, I know we’d both like to give something back for those less fortunate.  In addition, we have both had that niggling feeling of our health and fitness levels not being up to scratch. Well, 2016 is the year to sort that out.

This Christmas, I am not going to be giving the usual presents to Gareth. This year, I will be giving Gareth a ‘Hamper of Health’. It will contain various health and fitness related treats, but the stars of the show are entries to the Osprey Sprint Triathlons in April and October, along with this fundraising page which I know will mean so much to him.

I can not stress enough how much of a challenge this will be for us both (yep, that's right - it's only fair I do it with him...argh!). This will be our first ever triathlon. In our current state, I am a lousy runner at best, I do not own a bike and Gareth is not a confident swimmer. This is either a stroke of genius…or a ludicrous ambition! However, it is for a cause very close to our hearts and so I know we will both give it everything we have got. We will share updates from time to time on how our training is going for those who are interested.

I have set a fundraising amount of £943. This amount could pay for an experienced Dementia Support Worker to spend an hour a week for an entire year with someone affected by dementia, helping them to build their own support network and feel less isolated. The Alzheimer’s
Society is a cause very close to both mine and Gareth’s heart and we both have had members of our family affected by Dementia, and several who are still suffering. We are hoping that sponsorship for our triathlon attempts will cover a decent chunk of our £943 target, but we will also be doing various fundraising activities during the year to add to this total, so please keep an eye out for details of our other fundraising activities.

I would like to thank (and apologise to in advance!) Fran Bungay (Goals Specific Training) who we will be working with to help us get our fitness up to scratch - our first training session begins on 2nd January and I know she has some hard training in store for us! In addition, thank you to Bustinskins Events who are organising the two triathlons…and a thank you in advance to all the participants of these events for being patient with the two slow coaches at the back! And of course a HUGE thank you to anyone reading this and getting ready to dig deep and donate...your donation and support means more than you know!

Finally, I would just like to finish off by saying… Merry Christmas Gareth – put down those mince pies, step away from that sherry and dust off those trainers, you’ve got a triathalon to complete!

Merry Christmas everyone and here's to a happy and healthy 2016

Claire x