I am doing this iron man event and raising money for these charities for a number of reasons. Firstly, many of you will know people affected by cancer who's story is tragic and one of loss? Cancer is cruel and real & often uncompromising. However, people can also be uncompromising in their resilient spirit and endeavors to overcome cancer and fight back. In cases of loss, relatives can be equally resilient in coping with such losses, learning to cope, picking up the pieces and carrying on. I feel like one of the lucky ones as my Dad who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer put up his personal fight and was cleared earlier this year and is now in remission. Cancer treatment has come a long way in my lifetime and lots of money has been raised by thousands of people over the years running marathons, competing in triathlons & endless other events, all of which has helped pay for the research which eventually helped my Dad overcome his Cancer when he needed it. I now feel that I should do my bit to help somebody else's relative perhaps at some point in the future. I'd also like to dedicate this event to all the people I've known over the years (friends & family) who we've lost to Cancer.

I am also raising money in this event for Diabetes UK. Diabetes is still something which I feel is a little misunderstood by many. As you know my ex-wife Sally was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic many years ago now and although she has learned to live with the condition she is now insulin dependent injecting regularly to maintain a healthy blood sugar level.This sometimes makes simple things in life much more complicated as diet exercise & activity has to be carefully planned and thought about. I also have other friends affected by both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the idea that diabetes only affects those who have a poor diet and lifestyle is a complete misnomer. Babies and young children can be just as easily affected by this condition and insulin dependence for youngsters like this can be extremely difficult as you can imagine.

Finally, my own personal reason for challenging myself with such an extreme event (2.4 mile Swim/112 mile Bike/26 mile Run) is because I want to prove to myself and more importantly my children that if you really put your mind to something, dedicate yourself & be dogmatic and determined then most things in life are achievable. Even things that at first seem impossible or ludicrous. I've not succeeded yet but I'm going to give it my all.