On September 14th, I will be taking part in the Challenge Weymouth Triathlon and would like to take the opportunity to raise some much needed funding for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

For those that don't know, a Triathlon is a race comprised of three elements; a swim, a cycle and a run. In the case of this event, I will be starting out at 6:40am to do a 2.4 mile sea swim in Weymouth bay, getting out of the water and onto my bike for a 112 mile cycle course around the Dorset countryside and then going straight into running a full 26.2 mile marathon on the streets of Weymouth. All of which has to be completed in less than 16.5 hours.

The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a registered charity, established to provide relief from sickness and injury for the people of Dorset and Somerset, by the provision of an air ambulance. It receives no direct funding from the Government or the National Lottery and relies entirely on the generosity of the public for support.

Since the launch in March 2000, the service has attended thousands of incidents. It is tasked by the Ambulance Service through the normal ’999′ emergency process and can attend up to eight or nine incidents in a single day during the summer months.

They operate a Eurocopter EC135 helicopter from their airbase at Henstridge on the Dorset / Somerset border. From there, they can be at any point in the two counties within 19 minutes. More importantly, the helicopter can then take a patient to any one of the Major Trauma Centres in the south west within a further 20 minutes.

The operational costs of this vital service are £1.7 million a year, which equates to roughly £195 per hour. On this basis, I am setting my fundraising target at £3000 to cover the approximate costs of the service for the duration of my event.

I hope that you will agree with my views on the importance of this charity and will give generously. Just imagine that one day you needed its help, and were told that it was no longer there because of a lack of funds...