Hayley's Heroes was set up by my good friend John Counsell as he sought to create lasting memories for Hayley Martin, her 2 year old son Freddie and her family as she battled against Bowel Cancer. Sadly Hayley lost her fight in January this year, aged 31, but the Heroes live on, raising money to support young adults battling against cancer and creating lasting memories for them and their families.

More information about Hayley's Heroes can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/heroesforhayley/info/?entry_point=page_nav_about_item&tab=overview

I've taken part in some of the fund raising events, most notably the Great North and Great London swims, but felt that it was about time I took on a challenge that was a little bit different. I've swum for as long as I can remember, and competitively since I was 10 years old. I stopped when I went to Uni, but after a 16 year break I started again in 2014. I now swim with Guildford City Masters and have recently found Open Water swimming. I've raced over various distances, in lakes, rivers and seas, but the furthest I've ever raced is 7km.

The challenge that I've set myself is to complete the London Dock-to-Dock race on Sunday 4th September. The race starts in Royal Victoria Dock, swimming past the Excel Centre and into Royal Albert Dock, alongside London City Airport into King George V Dock, before turning and heading back. The race distance is 10km - the swimmer's equivalent of a marathon.

The website can be seen here: https://www.eventrac.co.uk/race-course-map/dock-to-dock-london-swim-individual-race-04-09-16

I would massively appreciate if you could spare a few pounds to support me in this challenge, and raise as much money as possible for an extremely worthy cause and in honour of a true hero, Hayley Martin.

Feel free to ask me any questions, or even to come and support, whether it's by joining me in training or encouraging me on the day!

Thank you for taking the time to read this page.

Simon