I have completed my three challenges in support of Bolton Beacon Counselling Service. These were Horwich Triathlon, Capesthorne Hall Triathlon and a 1000 mile cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats.  

Horwich Triathlon: The 500 metre swim took place in Horwich Leisure Centre, was followed by a tough and hilly 40km cycle ride and finished with a 8.6 km off-road run which climbed to Rivington Pike before descending and returning to the finish close to the leisure centre.

Epic Traithlons describe the route as tough enough to test the best and the run has been described as "the killer of all triathlon runs". There is an interesting review from a previous competitor here: http://www.tritalk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=68466

I completed the course in 2 hours 33 minutes. 

Capesthorne Hall Triathlon: This was my first open water triathlon and my first Olympic distance triathlon (1500 metre swim, 40km cycle and 10km run). It took me 3 hours 19 minutes to complete the course.

My first open water swim was challenging to say the least. During the swim I managed to almost swim around a buoy the wrong way (corrected by the safety canoe), get cramp twice and get tangled up in two ropes. The water was so shallow that my arms were scraping the bottom of the lake as I swam. It was also filthy and smelt awful. To top it off the orgainsers had measured the distance wrong so it was actually almost 2km!

I felt good on the bike but my the time I got to the run was suffering from bad stomach pain, presumably a result of a few mouthfuls of the lovely water. 

Land's End to John O'Groats Cycle: Cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, the furthest possible distance in the British Isles, is a classic challenge. The cycle started at Land’s End on the southwesterly tip of England, progressed through Cornwall, over Dartmoor and north along the Welsh border, skirting the Lake District into Scotland, via lochs and mountains to the North coast and finally John O’Groats. In all that's almost 1000 miles.

The toughest sections were the hills of Dartmoor, Shap and the Scottish Highlands. Two particularly tough days involved cycling all day into a strong headwind, one of these days was in the exposed Northern Scotland.  The hardest section far me was day three when I had mechanical issues with my bike meaning that for the last 30 miles (including a 5 mile climb) I only had one gear.  

We were very lucky with the weather, cycling all the way from Land's End to Scotland without any rain. There was some spectacular scenery especially Dartmoor, the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands.

It was very rewarding completing these challenges and knowing that such a worthy cause was benefiting helped me when it got tough.

 

Bolton Beacon Counselling Service: I completed these challenges in support of Beacon Counselling Service. Beacon is a non-profit registered charity providing counselling services to the general public.

Beacon are self-funding and staffed by volunteers. The most common issues facing people attending counselling at Beacon are depression, bereavement, relationships, self esteem and anger. There has been an increase in clients wanting help with regard to bereavement, relationships and alcohol.

Beacon are also involved with two specialist counselling projects:

1. S.O.B.B.S: The Survivors Of Bereavement By Suicide group counselling was set up due to the need for bereaved members of families/friends who have lost their loved ones to suicide, requiring counselling in a group setting.

2. SAVS (Sexual Abuse Victim Support):  Beacon counselling offers facilitated group counselling sessions for survivors of sexual abuse.

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