Sitting in an air conditioned office all day can sometimes make you a little restless, so...

On May 24th this year I thought I'd give the Lanzarote Ironman a shot. This event involves swimming 2.4 miles in the Atlantic, then cycling 112 miles around the island itself (with a total ascent of 9,000ft) and finally running a marathon (26.2 miles). Added to this is the Lanzarote heat which at this time of year will be anything between 25-30 degrees. The question "why?" springs to mind, but I haven't quite answered that myself yet...

A major part of the answer is to raise money for an important charity. "SOS Children's Villages" is currently active in 132 countries/ territories and focuses principally on children who have no parental care and whose families live in extremely difficult conditions. The basis of their work is to respect and promote children's rights, build families for children in need and equip them as best they can for the future.

With your support and in collaboration with my law firm, Pinsent Masons (which supports SOS Children's Villages through its corporate responsibility programme, Starfish) I'm aiming to gain as much support as possible. The target at the moment is to raise £10,000, but exceeding this would be incredible.

I know you'll have had numerous requests for donations, but if you find yourself with a little spare change then any amount you decide to give will help make this event more worthwhile.

Thanks for reading this and I look forward to seeing you soon,

Olly x

N.B. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: SOS Children's Villages will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.