The Challenge:

Ironman UK is a Full Distance Triathlon: Swim 2.4 Miles | Bike 112 Miles | Run 26.2 Miles. In Total 140.6 Miles. There is 17hour time limit to complete the whole event. It’s on Sunday 15th July 2018. - Only 4 Days To Go!! 🏊🏼‍♂️🚴🏽‍♂️🏃🏽‍♂️

My Story:

In December 2017 I decided to make some big changes to my lifestyle and to get more physically active. I signed up to Ironman to give myself something big to aim for and to keep me focussed. At the time of signing up to Ironman, I ‘d not exercised for 5 years, I had an unhealthy lifestyle and unhealthy diet, I was overweight by at least 2 stone, I couldn’t swim, I’d never swam open water before, I’d only done a Fun Sprint Triathlon before (5 years earlier) and I had a number of health and physical mobility issues to resolve. I wasn’t going to let any/all of that stop me. So I started training at the beginning of February 2018. Giving myself only 5 months to get prepared wasn’t ideal either.

Unfortunatley not long after starting training I had the first of 2 bike accidents 🤕 (more on the 2nd accident later). But having a bike accident early on in my training meant I was laid off for over 3 weeks before I could start training again. By late April I’d got my training back on track. Over the past 4 months I’ve lost over 2 stone, I have a healthy and clean diet, I’ve given up alcohol (worth sponsoring me just for that), I’ve learnt to swim and in open water, I can cycle 90 miles for fun, I’ve taken part in a few standard distance triathlons and I’ve resolved all my mobility issues (I’m not as stiff as a plank now!).

Just when things were going so well, on Monday 18th June, I was on a training ride and was knocked off my bike in a hit and run incident when a car decided to drive straight through me. 🤕 Although I escaped with my life and minor injuries, I sustained 3 fractured bones in my hand as well as damaged ligaments, tendons, as well as a good amount of road rash, not to mention the mental impact of being driven off your bike has on you. Nevertheless, I’m determined to be on that start line and finish what I started. Thankfully I’m on the road to recovery.

I hope that me doing this challenge and considering the setbacks that I’ve had so far inspires other people to do a challenge of their own, whether that’s Ironman or something else. I hope people think ‘if he can do it, i can do it too’ I want to show no matter how many times you get knocked down (quite literally in my case) you can get back up and still achieve your goal, as long as you have that belief you can do it. I now live a happier and healthier life and that is down to the changes I’ve made and being more physically active. And it’s because of all of this I’m passionate about fundraising for this project for St Thomas of Canterbury School.

Why:

St Thomas Of Canterbury is a Primary School in Bolton. I’m part a fantastic committee of Parents and School Staff that engages in various activities to provide funding for extra resources and equipment for the benefit of the Pupils and Teachers. These extra resources make a big difference to the enjoyment and experiences pupils have at St Thomas of Canterbury.

The Project:

This project was conceived in part from my own experiences and the difference getting active through sport has made. I hope that my story inspires other people and through this project we can implement something that will benefit generations of children at St Thomas of Canterbury School.

We are looking to raise in Total £40,000 to develop a Health & Wellbeing Area including an Outdoor Gym to replace the existing Play Area which is tired and outdated. We want to create a space where children can use a handcrafted natural play area, where they can engage in various activities that are fun, educational and encourage physical activity. This project will be split into phases and will be subject to fundraising. 

Thanks for reading my long winded boring story. Please donate if you can. 

Adam 😁