I've been doing triathlons and silly long races for over a decade but other than my very first race I've rarely felt moved to fundraise.

But Gaza has changed that.

At times during training for my upcoming Ironman* I've felt hungry and thirsty and in pain. And then I reflect on how it's completely my choice to be here and how I can stop at any point.

Whereas people in Gaza are facing starvation and intolerable fear and suffering every day.

I am fundraising for the Gaza Sunbirds, a para cycling team based in the Gaza Strip who, given the current situation, have redirected their activities to providing community-led aid.

Their work and stories are completely inspirational and show that despite a desperate situation, there are still stories of hope. Distributing aid through their grass roots network in Gaza, they really are making a difference.

https://gazasunbirds.org/

https://www.instagram.com/gazasunbirds

* For anyone lucky enough for me to not have bored about this already, I'm doing Leeds Ironman on 27th July.

An Ironman (yes, that is what they are still called) is a 3.8km swim, 180km bike followed by a marathon. Leeds Ironman is a particularly tough course and by far the hardest I've done and I estimate I'll be racing for about 14-15 hours.