Hello sponsors!

As some of you may know, I've signed up for the UK Ironman triathlon on 4 August 2013.  An ironman is just like any normal triathlon but longer - it involves a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle and 26.2 mile run.  The UK event is in and around Bolton (as glamerous as it sounds), with the swim in that well-known lake, the Pennington Flash. 

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/ironman/uk.aspx#axzz2Mg3IiP1N 

To view a short clip about the likely impact this event will have on my life, please click here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=B03dFMG8nR4.

I would be very grateful for any sponsorship you can give.  All the money raised will be donated to Mary's Meals, a fantastic charity that provides starving children with food at school in Africa and other hunger-stricken parts of the world.  Please donate with Gift Aid if you are one of the few paying tax in the UK...

This charity is of particular significance for me and many others as it is the chosen charity of a dear friend, Jon Hard, who passed away just over five years ago at the age of 21. Jon was a charming and caring young man, so it is fitting that he chose a charity where so little can go such a long way to making a difference. 

It is a very efficient way to help children as with Mary's Meals it costs little as £10.70 to feed a child at school for a year, the price of three pints, two inner tubes or a pizza in London.  93 pence in the pound is spent on charitable activities so you won't see your money being spent on expensive advertising campaigns, with the 7p accounting for governance and fundraising costs.  Please visit www.marysmeals.org to find out more.  Thanks for your help! 

Yours in training, 

Ash