Updated on 12th July - an ENORMOUS thank you to everyone who has contributed toward the total of £792.00 donated to the Caron Keating Foundation. I should give a special thank you to Bampton CE Primary School who raised £157.00. Well done!!

 

See below for previous updates.

Thank you so much for having a look at this.

On 26th June 2011 I'm going to be racing in the Forestman Triathlon in the New Forest, with good friend (and proper triathlete) Matt Dales. The Forestman is an "iron-distance" race, meaning a 3.8 km swim, 180km bike leg and a 42.2km run. In old money, that's 140 miles including a full marathon at the end! For me, that'll mean racing for around 13 hours, and burning in the region of 10,000 Calories. It may hurt!

I'm hoping to raise as much money as I can for the Caron Keating Foundation. I have both family and friends who have recently been affected by cancer, and the Foundation do amazing work supporting carers, treatment centres and support groups. The Caron Keating Foundation is a family run charity with tiny admin costs, so if I can raise £5.00 for every mile I cover, the £700 will be almost entirely be spent on these causes. The metric equivalent - £1,130 - would have an even greater effect on cancer sufferers in the UK.

With four weeks until race day, I hope to keep this page updated with my progress (aka the constant fight against the temptation to drink wine and eat crisps), so check it again if you can!

Thanks again - Paul.

 

Update 10th June - even Forestmen get the flu!

Well, training has been pretty much written off for the last two weeks by a bout of the flu, but the good news is that I've tried some race simulation this week, and I'm now feeling fine - woo hoo!

I've got two more weeks to get some final preparation in, and it also means that I'd better get on and raise some money. Bampton CE Primary School are going to try to match my weight loss with a coin collection. Currently they need to collect 18kg of coins! I'll get emailing details of this page, and thank you in advance for any help you can offer the CKF.

 

Update 28th June - the deed is done!

Yesterday was race day. My knees and ankles are now killing me, and I feel about 2 inches shorter, but I DID IT!!

The race course was incredibly beautiful, and the bright sun and 28 degree heat meant that it'll be a day I will remember for a long time. It didn't do much to aid my run time, though! Although the times haven't been confirmed yet, we think that Matt finished 9th in 11 hours and 1 minute, recording the fastest bike leg of the day. I didn't finish 9th, but I did finish! In about fourteen and a half hours....

I just wanted to thank everybody who has contributed toward the CKF, but also those who supported me yesterday, and over the last few months. I couldn't have done it without you all!

Paul (now a Forestman) Atkins

 

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