My Story

Since retiring from swimming, I have been faced with the reality of being "normal" which for many elite athletes is something that is not really focused on and when it comes to our time to walk away from the lifestyle of an athlete it can be very scary and lonely. Luckily, I saw this part of my life as a new chapter and an opportunity.

This chapter of my life has given me the chance to focus some of my personal goals; one of these is to raise money for a charity. Another of my goals is to complete an Ironman.

So, as of the 8th of October 2017 I committed to my goals and decided to enter the Barcelona Ironman 2018. I will be doing this for the charity Bloodwise, formerly Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. who dedicate to funding research into all blood cancers as well as offering information and support to blood cancer patients.

The reasoning behind my choice of charity is because in 2012 my house mate, team mate of 5 years and a very close friend of mine, Lewis Coleman, was struck with some devastating news that his mum had been diagnosed with Leukaemia. Here is his story;

"In June 2012 my close friend Lewis received the news that his mum, Maggie, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Unfortunately, initial chemotherapy didn't work and Maggie needed a trial drug to allow her to undertake a Bone Marrow transplant. These trials are only available because of the funds raised and the work that Bloodwise do and without this transplant Maggie wouldn't have lived to see Christmas 2012. However, due to the amazing work Bloodwise do Maggie was able to spend more precious years with her two boys and loving husband.

After the Bone Marrow Transplant, Maggie went into remission. However, shortly after the cancer came back and the doctors told her that it was now terminal. This is the news no family wishes to receive. But Maggie did not let it get her down and she fought bravely until the end. Unfortunately, Maggie lost her brave battle with cancer in November 2014, but she had one final wish, to see her youngest son Oliver's birthday on November 10th... she passed away peacefully in the early hours of the 11th. This was a true reflection of Maggie's determination despite having the odds stacked against her. She truly was an inspiration and her inspiring battle has left an impact on so many people's lives, including mine. Bloodwise offered so much support both during and after Maggie's battle and having seen this I would like to raise as much money as possible to say thank you to Bloodwise and so they can continue their amazing support. Hopefully one day they shall find a cure but to do this they need money raised by us."

Lewis is my inspiration, as when he received this terrible news he did not let this get him down, he didn't let cancer win, he actually did quite the opposite. Lewis is the founder of the event & initiative Swim4Leukaemia which raised over £30,000 on February 1st 2014 for Bloodwise. The event set a Guinness World Record in the 100x100m swimming relay for Swim4Leukaemia, an event which had over 2000 spectators, 300 participants and over 50 volunteers. I was lucky enough to be competitor 99 and have the main man himself, Lewis take over from me. Lewis was solely responsible for the organization and running of the event. he successfully brought in a major corporate sponsor, Speedo International, to assist with the branding, the equipment and kit required for the world record attempt as well as aligning the event with their brand to raise the profile of the event; along with a few smaller sponsors such as IPro Sport, Water Direct and Nutrigrain to provide hydration and snacks for all the spectators and competitors. He was responsible for all the negotiations with Ponds Forge International Sport Centre in regards to the hire of the venue. Lewis had a budget of £0 for the event and spent £0 to put the event on.

Seeing Lewis achieve so much has made me want to help him out to try and get him closer to his target of raising £100,000 for Bloodwise and for his mum, Maggie. Lewis, friends and family have to date raised over £60,000 in memory of Maggie, with a lot of hard work I believe we can take this number up by a significant amount.

The Ironman will be advertised as Ironman4Leukaemia and I hope to get a few more people joining me, maybe even Lewis himself. 

I have already had one friend who has committed by entering the event to join me. He is also a retired swimmer, Luke Howdle

As you can imagine, doing an Ironman is not something you can just turn up on the day and be ok. A 2.5-mile swim, 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile (marathon) run will take a lot of time, training and dedication and those of you who know me from my swimming days, know I'm not a huge fan of long distance :) but I will have Maggie in my mind throughout the training and very much so during the event. It will take the will and determination she showed throughout her fight to get me through the tough miles!

Thank you for taking the time to read through my story. Any support is massively appreciated in helping me achieve my target and supporting Bloodwise help families like Lewis's get that second chance and the very precious extra time at life that they had with Maggie.

Thank you in advance

Brax x