Hi everyone

In a mad moment (and thanks to Alison Morrissey) I decided to enter the Challenge Barcelona Triathlon on 3rd October 2010. Three gruelling events one after the other (swim 3.8km in the sea, cycle 180km on the spanish coastal roads then run 42km). Seemed like a good chance to do some fundraising. Three parts to the challenge so three charities to benefit.

Help for Heroes http://www.justgiving.com/Judith-Martin ,

Cancer Research UK (You are on this donation page now) and

Special Olympics 2011 http://www.justgiving.com/Judith-Martin-SOGB  .

Please feel free to follow the links and donate to the other charities I have chosen to fundraise for. Just think giving a few pounds of your hard earned money is a lot less painful than going through with my challenge.

July 2010

Training is going well at present. Swimming in Kilbirnie Loch - 2.8km completed 6th June 2010. Cycling - longest so far 130km around the roads of Ayrshire 17th July 2010. Running - Thanks to the running gang in Dunlop (Joan, Fiona, Una and our four legged friend Dougal) regularly pounding out distances of up to 14km before breakfast and gradually increasing the distance each week.

August 2010

A sprained ankle while running in the French Alps caused an upset with training. Thanks to the great medical help in Bourg St Maurice hospital and by Simon, Alison and Allan the training only stopped for one day. Swimming was no problem with the 3.8km being completed in under 2 hours in the 50m outdoor pool and cycling was manageable with an aircast protecting my left leg. By week 2 managed the Col du Petit St Bernard and a tour around Lake Annecy. Three weeks with no running but now trying to build up the miles but still a bit painful.

21st August saw a big fundraising effort to help the cause thanks to Joe and Linda Magee. A Casino Night in Dunlop raised £1500 to be split between the charities. What a night - thanks to everyone who took part and entered in to the James Bond theme.

Getting down to practicing the transitions now and checking equipment is all ok and nutrition sorted.

One week and we will be there making final preparations. The team are all fit and training has gone well. Now we all just want to get out there and get going.

Fundraising is goin well with the total on and offline donations topping £3000. (ps to Nick Newell  - Alison passed on your sponsorship)

Regular updates on progress will be added.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.