This year I will be taking part in the Bristol Triathlon, West London Tough Mudder, and Major Series.

What?

The Bristol Triathlon is an olympic distance multi-discipline event. It includes a 1,5km swim, 40km bike stage, and 10km run. Tough Mudder is an extreme obstacle course set out over a half marathon distance. The Major Series is an army design assault course set over 10km.

http://www.tribristol.org/

https://toughmudder.co.uk/

http://www.majorseries.com/

Why?

My partners Father sadly passed away last December. Leaving behind his wife Jane and daughters Sarah and Hannah, his name was Paul and he spent over 20 years fighting a brain tumour. His deterioration was gradual, still the last few weeks of his life saw a cruel and rapid decline in health. 

During these last few weeks, Paul was taken into the care of St Raphael's Hospice who are a charity offering high-quality medical and nursing care for people with cancer and other serious illness. Paul’s final days were always going to be pained and undignified, yet the genuine kindness and compassion expressed by the nurses at St Raphael’s touched us all and made an unmeasurable difference. Not only did they ensure Paul was as pain free as possible, but also gave us comfort in knowing he was being looked after by professionals who constantly went the extra mile to show compassion for their patients and their families.

By training and taking part in the aforementioned events, I hope to raise money for St Raphael’s Hospice. They rely heavily on charity fundraising and donations to continue providing a high quality of care, the likes of which simply aren’t seen in the NHS. It costs nearly £80,000 a week to keep the hospice running, and I’m hoping to raise a minimum of £1,000 as a small but meaningful contribution to this quite wonderful service. My training to gain a level of fitness required to complete these events is a small struggle in comparison to the fight faced by Paul, but I hope it will act as a fitting tribute to a great man and friend, whilst  raising money for a very worthy cause.

What can I do?

As a family we are looking to raise £10,000 over the next two years for St Raphael’s Hospice, and I’m determined to nag and nag until I reach my own personal target. Even if it’s just £1, I want as many people as possible to donate and help me reach this goal.