In May 2019 my brother in law Paul was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. He died on 9 June 2020, leaving behind my sister and their two children. He’s loved and missed by everyone who knew him.

Paul spent the last month of his life at the Heart of Kent Hospice. He received amazing care and they gave Paul and his family the best possible ending in tragic circumstances.  The hospice relies on donations for 80% of its funds and during this difficult time are facing closure due to all their fund-raising events being cancelled and charity shops being closed.

I’m always embarrassed to ask for donations.  The only time I’ve done this before is for the Great North Run in 2005! This time I have to make an exception and try to do just a little bit.

On Friday 7 August, starting at 6pm, I’ll attempt to complete 7 back-to-back Olympic distance triathlons in 7 continents in 24 hours, in Paul’s memory. Each triathlon will be 6.5km on a ski machine, 40km cycling and a 5km treadmill run.  For the bike leg I’ve chosen 7 triathlon routes, from 7 different continents (i’ve had to take some artistic licence with a runway in Antarctica!) that I’ll ride virtually using the Rouvy app (https://rouvy.com/en/).  Fingers crossed 24 hours later I’ll have racked up the 360.5km needed to complete the challenge.

I’m doing this to raise funds for the Heart of Kent Hospice, to help them keep providing exceptional care to other families.  I know that times are hard at the moment, but if you can donate even just a little, please do.