In August 2022, my girlfriend of 5 years, Beth Pevsner, died tragically of septic shock aged 25. Although we parted ways last year, it is without a doubt that I owe the person I have become today to Beth and it was ultimately through Beth’s support and encouragement that I landed the job here at St Paul’s Girls’ School that I so thoroughly love.

Beth inspired everyone with the dedication that she showed to her sport and raising money for charitable causes. From walking 10,000 steps a day for over 365 straight days to walking over 120 km around the Isle of Mann in 19 hours. It was then only right to undertake this level of challenge in her memory - an ironman triathlon. Beth and I met through our college rowing club, Grey College BC, at Durham University and as such this triathlon has a rowing theme. A row replaces a swim, 6.5 km in a single scull along the Head of the River course from Chiswick to Putney followed by a 180km ride to Henley-on-Thames and a marathon around London (42.2 km) to complete.

Beth was someone who was incredibly passionate and spent much of her life fighting for what she believed in. She was a firm believer in equality for all and would instantly speak up in the face of sexism, racism and other isms. As an alumna of Latymer Upper School, she remained incredibly proud of her school, particularly with the level of bursary support that they offer. With this in mind, I would also like to use this an opportunity to raise money for the bursary programme where I work at St Pauls' Girls' School (SPGS).

We all miss her dearly and I hope to make her proud. Donations of any size would be gratefully received.

I am also raising money for the UK Sepsis Trust, my fundraising page can be found here:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/tom-fox-runrowride

Fundraising is at the heart of our fight against sepsis.

It raises awareness, and sparks the question: “What is sepsis? In this way, fundraising can help prevent thousands of deaths & unnecessary suffering through knowledge & awareness of the symptoms.

It also funds our vital support work, Public Awareness, Educating Health Professionals & helping people adjust to life after sepsis through accessing our Support Group network. We also lobby government to support our cause and makes vital changes in areas such as the NHS.