Dear Friend,

The story of me and the Blenheim triathlon has three phases as any good triathlon story should.

Phase One: Nine years ago Grant Bates, who was a very close friend of my husband Dominic, and Grant’s daughter Rebecca, tried to persuade me to join them at the Blenheim triathlon. Triathlon was a word I had heard but all it meant to me at that time was something scary and impossible.  They tried and tried but I was not listening.  I didn’t join them and it is something I regret to this day. Grant died of cancer a year later.

Rebecca and Grant’s wife, Sue Bates, have many times come to support me and the team at Blenheim and if it weren’t for them planting the seed then the team would never have taken off.  This year Jonny, Rebecca’s husband, will be cycling with the Tour de Godwin from The Hall to support us.

Phase Two: After having my third child I was feeling at a physically low ebb.  One day, Chantal Dyble, a fellow mum at The Hall, brought up the word Blenheim again. Her words, which I shall never forget, were “it is just like going for a swim in a beautiful lake, followed by a bike ride in the park and then a short run.”  There was something about the breaking down of it into the component parts that chimed with me and I said “OK”. Alongside Chantal and Asha Patel, we three mums entered, completed and enjoyed our first Blenheim triathlon.

Phase Three: Having completed my first triathlon I was amazed at how do-able it was, but also amazed at how much satisfaction I gained from completing it.  I wanted to share my sense of achievement with other mums who perhaps had lost a bit of confidence in their physical capabilities since having children.  We thus decided to start a Ladies team and went about persuading other mums to join us the following year. We set up training, information sessions and WhatsApp groups galore. The next year we had over 20 mums. The third year our numbers were even more and then the teachers started joining and then the Dads wanted to join in too. This year I am very proud to say we have over 40 triathletes taking part. Over the five years, we have had more than 80 first-time triathletes take part.  This is something of which I am really very proud. 

The ethos of the team has always been inclusivity and comradeship. Although a triathlon is an individual competition, I have been thrilled at the way that our training sessions and general support and encouragement for each other has surpassed individual ambition. Yes, we have had some of our triathletes go on to represent their countries at higher levels, even World Championships which is truly extraordinary. However, I am equally proud of the mums who genuinely thought they would be unable to do a triathlon but ultimately proved themselves wrong. I am thinking of ladies who were unable to run 5k at the beginning of their training,  or were terrified of open water and in tears at the first open water training session - these ladies finally took the plunge and completed Blenheim with us.

Dominic, my ever supportive husband, has for the last two years cycled from London to Blenheim on the day of the event to cheer me on. This year Mr Godwin suggested to us the notion of this ride becoming formalised and so the Tour de Godwin was born.  There are going to be over 30 parent / teacher cyclists riding the 70 miles to Blenheim from The Hall School.

Every year we have chosen worthy charities to raise money for and have raised over £50,000 for various charities.  We tend to select a charity each year which has some particular local or other relevance to the school.

This year our chosen charity is one that means a lot personally to the families at the Hall.  Luca, a friend and classmate of Dylan (my seven-year-old son), has recently been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.  He has an excellent chance of recovery and the prognosis is very positive.  This year’s charity has been selected by Luca’s parents and is a research programme into CAR-T cell therapy.  This is an innovative method of treating childhood leukaemia which desperately needs more money to develop faster.  Dr Sarah Gorashian who is leading the research programme came to talk to us at The Hall and the work she is doing is truly exciting. It really does seem as if childhood cancer research may be on the cusp of some momentous discoveries. Luca’s parents Madeleine and Andrea have been through an extremely difficult year and their extraordinary positivity in dealing with Luca’s illness has been a lesson to us all. Their attitude has been infectious and, despite going through what they are going through, they have both been moved to join the team.  They are both taking part this year - Madeleine in the triathlon and Andrea in the Tour de Godwin.

We are delighted to have them with us and it will no doubt make us swim harder, cycle faster and run with more spring in our step.

I ask you to support our cause this year.  Please, please donate something, however small an amount.  My JustGiving link is on this page

https://www.justgiving.com/companyteams/TheHallSchoolGOSHfund

This is also my last year as Team Captain and so will be the last time I trouble you for a donation.  In closing, I would like to thank everyone who has ever been part of the team, encouraged me and us to continue, and made it possible both practically and emotionally, notably the following:

Dr and Mr Godwin, Chantal Dyble, Asha Patel, Kirsty Anderson, Susie Armes, Penny Slater, Catrina Holme, Nicola Avery-Gee, Nici Audlam-Gardiner, Louise McNamara, Tazim Hall, Laura Todd, Danielle Sandler, Richard Gordon, Kristin Duffy, Daniel Bingham, RG active, my husband Dominic Shorthouse and my children Catherine,  Archie and Dylan.

Amanda xxxx