Who would have thought a drunken dare to enter an Ironman would change my life quite so dramatically....I never planned to become a professional athlete. In fact when I take time to reflect on my life as it stands at present I almost don't believe it. I was an oncologist and I will in the future be an oncologist and I certainly never imagined that aged 36 I'd be travelling the world racing as a professional triathlete. 

Life as a pro athlete is immense, intense, exhausting, exhilarating, exciting, tedious, daunting and absolutely incredible. It’s a special time of my life and I’m relishing every moment.

But it's also somewhat of a selfish pursuit and for a while now I’ve been trying to think of ways in which I can do something a bit more useful with my time than just swim, bike and run. So i thought i'd use the 'miniature platform' I have in the UK to raise money for a charity which is very close to my heart, Teenage Cancer Trust. 

As such I've put together a fundraising team for 70.3 Staffordshire. We've got 10 team members, many of whom are complete novices, all of whom are excited and nervous about putting ourselves on the start line on 12th June. 

It was a big thing for me to put together the team. Firstly I was worried no-one would want to join! And it's taken a lot of time to put together a decent package (thanks to my sponsors for their generous support), write training plans and arrange training days. On a personal level I've had an up and down year with injuries but have been working hard to give myself the best possible chance of defending my title in Staffordshire and once again dancing down that finish line. I can't wait!

So i'm not asking for sponsorship to finish the race. I'm asking for sponsorship to support my first proper forage into supporting a charity I am passionate about. And I figured that by setting up this page I would be able to make it possible for those of you who enjoy reading my blogs and columns or listening to interviews on podcasts etc to make a small donation in return.

Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for the seven young people aged 13 to 24 diagnosed with cancer every day. The charity funds and builds specialist units in NHS hospitals and provides dedicated staff, bringing young people together so they can be treated by teenage cancer experts in the best place for them. It means that young people with cancer aren’t just treated on an adult ward and allows a much more holistic treatment approach.

Thanks for reading. And if you feel like you would like to make a donation no amount is too small.

Cheers!

Lucy