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Who we are...

We have two teams who are taking on a relay triathlon to raise funds for Thames21, one of Team Cherwell's chosen charities for 2026!

In the first relay team, we have Claire, who works for Thames21, tackling the swim, and Daniel from the Banbury Star cycling club doing the 20km cycle. Finally Will, who worked for Thames21 for many years will step up for the 5km run.

Secondly we have a Banbury based book club, comprising:

Jen, tackling the swim: “Having only recently learned front crawl and how to put my head under the water, I’ll be focusing on less chatting and more swimming!”

Vic, the 20km cycle: “I swam in the River Avon last year as part of an organised event and it really opened my eyes to how important it is to keep our rivers clean.”

Karen will finish the challenge with the 5km run: “I needed a push to get back into running, and this felt like the perfect motivation, having fun with my book club, getting fitter and raising awareness for Thames21.”

Why we are fundraising...

The River Cherwell is a beautiful river, connecting communities across three counties, supporting fantastic wildlife, flowing through the centre of Banbury and meeting the Thames at the iconic Christchurch Meadows in Oxford.

However, the Cherwell and its communities are also troubled by pollution from litter and sewage, and periods of flooding and drought. Only one out of 35 sections are classed as in good ecological health.

Thames21 works with communities, landowners, councils and others to protect and restore the river through rewiggling rivers, planting trees and hedgerows, testing the water quality monthly and providing education and training opportunities.

We do this as co-hosts of the Cherwell and Ray catchment partnership. You can find out more about the partnership here: link.

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