I am also raising money for St Michael’s Fellowship - a Streatham based charity working to support parents in South London and further afield. https://www.justgiving.com/page/justinironmansmf

Ironman Wales and me. For those who don’t know an Ironman is a triathlon invented in Hawaii in 1978. Sadly it is technically now a trademark, but nonetheless the distances now as then are 2.4mile (3.8km) swim, 112 mile (180km) bike and 26.2 mile (yes a marathon 42.2km) run. I did my first ‘Olympic distance’ triathlon in 1999 which is roughly a quarter of the distance. I have done a small number since and hankered after doing an Ironman one day. The main barrier being finding time to do the necessary preparation/training. I retired (90%) in October 2024 and since about January this year my life has more or less been taken over by the training. I joined a triathlon club, started swimming, running and cycling several times per week. In about April I got myself a coach who not only gives me 10-14 exercise sessions to do per week, but has helped me with swimming and run (sorely needed) technique. I’ve made some upgrades to my bike, used more gels than ever before and reluctantly getting on the protein bandwagon.

The event is coming up fast on Sunday September 21st based in Tenby, South Wales. A feature of this event is the large amount of climbing on the bike and run legs (the sea is generally quite flat, hopefully will be on the day). I knew this when I signed up but have been very aware of odd looks from those that know when I say where I am doing this. Those who are interested are welcome to contact me for more info. I have a Strava page which automatically logs my training and I plan to make more interesting.

Farm Africa - as the name suggests supports agriculture in parts of Africa - Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo.They work “in partnership with small holder farmers and small businesses to unlock the transformative potential of sustainable and effective agriculture”. There are different views about if and how outside organisations can genuinely help people in low and middle income countries., I believe that thoughtful engagement with grass roots groups can bring meaningful change on the ground and more broadly. Farm Africa do this. They have programmes to reach out to women, help young people into work, improve access to markets and increase income. Their agricultural education and support work includes focus on climate change, biodiversity, improving productivity and nutrition. I encourage you to read more about them on their website.

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