I hadn’t been planning to use my Ironman challenge to raise money. However, last week, with only two weeks to go to the event in Copenhagen, I received the horrible news that my friend Jenny had lost her battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of just 34.

Jenny was my friend who fully ‘got’ my love of triathlon and had done an Ironman herself. She has been providing support and tips throughout the year while undergoing her chemo treatment. I can’t quite believe that she is now gone and won’t be tracking me round the course on the 18th. But I will try to channel her positive, can-do attitude when the going gets tough, and I will be swimming, cycling and running in her honour.

Jenny’s illness and death makes no sense at the moment. In an attempt to make a little good come from something so bad, I have decided to raise a bit of money for Pancreatic cancer research. This scary, hidden disease has one of the worst cancer outcomes with more than half of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer dying within 3 months.

With your help I would love to help improve diagnosis and treatment for the future. Thank you very much for your support ❤️