So I am attempting my first Ironman 70.3 in September.

I set a target for this year to complete a full Ironman, but after my first swimming lesson I couldn’t do more than 50m without being gassed. I also have never been on a road bike before and the last time a used a bike was when I was about 15 on a BMX…

The Triathlon coach watched me swim and said I was mad to try an Ironman so I have settled on the Ironman 70.3 for now, but I will do the full one in 2024. No excuses.

I am also going for 2023 with no booze and wanting to raise money again for the Solan Connor Fawcett family trust who do amazing work with local people affected by cancer.

Every Christmas, the charity provides gifts and Xmas lunch to its warriors as they sometimes aren’t in a financial position to pay for these things themselves and it is the time of year that we all want to enjoy with the family. Having a cancer diagnosis isn’t cheap… Although the NHS does a fabulous job caring for us the financial impact it can have on a family is massive, a lot of families will have no income coming in so the financial and mental strain it can have on families can be catastrophic. What the charity does over Xmas for these families is incredible.

Every year, my company get together and we try and help at least one family. However, after a recent meeting with Mark it was brought to our attention that the charity had made a loss of £24,000 in 2022. We want to eliminate some of the financial burden for the charity by raising money to finance Christmas gifts to all their warriors and families this Christmas.

The charity spent £22,000 in December supporting the warriors and their families, so we wanted to try and raise this amount, meaning we haven’t just helped one family, but every family being supported.

I’m not just doing the Ironman, but also doing a charity ball the weekend after the event to try and raise this high amount. Please contact me for more information on this.

The reason the Christmas period means so much to me is my last Christmas with my Mam wasn’t a great one. It was 1999 and I was in year 7, the last week of school we had an English lesson and the teacher was asking everyone what they were doing for Xmas that year. Obviously most kids at that age are excited for the time off and looking forward to opening their presents and being spoilt. But I had just got the news that week that my Mam wouldn’t get out of hospital so me and my sister would be spending some of Xmas day opening presents at the hospital. I remember my Mam and Dad telling me that they hoped my Mam would be out of hospital for New Years eve so I was more excited for NYE than I was Xmas because I just thought it would be rubbish spending it in hospital.

I remember my classmates talking about what they were doing and thinking how unfair it was that I wasn’t looking forward to it. It eventually came round to me and I just said I’m not looking forward to it because my Mam is going to be in hospital. Then I just couldn’t hold back the tears and remember being really upset and having to leave the classroom. I felt like an idiot and was so embarassed. Most people in my class didn’t even know my Mam was ill as I hadn’t really said anything to anyone as we were still just getting to know each other. Sorry to anyone in my class that day as I bet I really killed the mood when everyone was in high spirits.

I honestly cannot remember that Xmas at all, my memory must have blocked it out but I do remember being told after Xmas that my mam wasn’t well enough to get out of hospital for new years eve either… The millennium party that everyone was so excited about.

At least she will be out for my birthday on January 12th I thought.

My mam lost her battle to cancer on January 6th 2000. Which is still the worst day of my life. I spoke about that day the last time I tried to raise a lot of money for Cancer research and the support I received was overwhelming. Since then I have been able to speak a lot more about what happened and what I went through but the truth is a lot of it has been blocked out and I don’t really remember much of my Mam, just the odd funny story and everyone always tells me how great she was. I remember her funeral being absolutely packed that we needed speakers outside. I remember walking behind the coffin with my Dad and sister and seeing people I knew outside the church and even more packed inside. She was loved by so many people it always makes me feel happy now how much she was loved.

I believe everything happens for a reason and that I lost my Mam so I could do better things. I could play the victim and use this as an excuse but I don’t. I use it as a motivator now. I used to play on it at school and got away with murder at times but I believe I can achieve anything in life because the worst as already happened.

Training for the Ironman will be tough, but its nothing compared to what some families go through when dealing with an illness like cancer.

When I found out what The Solan Charity did for families over the Xmas period I had to be involved. I hated Xmas 1999 as I wasn’t aware it would be my last Xmas with my Mam so this drives me on to help as many families going through it as I can. A lot of the warriors do pass away each yeah and I know it will be the last Xmas for some of the families with their loved ones so lets try and get as much as we can so at least they can make it one to remember.

A special thank you to my Dad, who became a single parent having to raise an 11 and 9 year old. Thanks to my Aunty Gillian who was always there to help us when times were tough. And a massive thank you to my Aunty June, who always wanted and encouraged me to speak about how I felt. I know I didn’t speak to anyone about it until 2015 when I was 27, I know I always said I was ok and was probably cold but I didn’t want to talk and just bottled a lot of it up.

There is a lot more support for kids who lose a parent now and I encourage any one to speak to someone. Because it does help to get it off your chest. The charity can also help with this so don’t be afraid to reach out if you feel you need it. I didn’t think I did and football was always my escape when I was younger… Until I turned 18 and unfortunately, I turned to drinking and partying a lot. I don’t regret this as I had some good times but it is also why I am giving up alcohol for 2023. I won’t pack it in altogether, as socialising with my good mates has always been an escape and helped me massively. I laugh so much when in the company of good people but it’s only 1 year. I promise :P

Thanks for reading my story and please donate if you can.

Thank you so much.

Jordan x