Would you get up at 5am for a 2.4 mile swim in Weymouth Bay?  After that swim how about changing into cycling gear and cycling 112 miles in the Dorset countryside?  Once the bike ride is done, would you then want to put your trainers on and run a 26.2 mile marathon?  On the 13^th September this year I am intending to do exactly that, an Iron Distance Triathlon. 

Iron Distance Triathlons are the ultimate endurance event with a time limit of 16 hours to complete.  I have never done anything like this before.  Not even close!  To give you an idea of how hard these events really are, 1% of the world population has completed a marathon.  Only 0.001% of the world population has ever completed an Iron Distance Triathlon. 2 years ago I was almost 4 stone heavier and couldn’t even run to the end of the road.  Since then, in training I have swum over 250 miles, cycled approximately 6000 miles and run around 1500 miles.  On the 13^th September I will have only 140.6 miles to go, though these will be swum/cycled/run one after another.

Why would any sane person do this?  My motivation is the story of my friends Louise and Steve and their brave daughter Amber.

 Chestnut Tree House cared for my friends Louise and Steve's daughter during her fight against Neuroblastoma.  Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer, rarely effecting children over the age of 10 years old.  Amber sadly lost her fight against Neurobastoma and passed away in 2013 aged just 2 years old.   I was hugely saddened to hear of Lou and Steve losing their beautiful and fun filled daughter. When you first hold your newborn child in your arms, no parent expects that their life will end so soon.  Louise and Steve told me of the fantastic support that Chestnut Tree House provided for them and provides for other families. I knew deep in my soul that I had to do something to help this great organisation.

  Chestnut Tree House is the only children's hospice in Sussex and cares for over 300 children and young adults from 0-19 years of age with progressive life-shortening conditions. Without Chestnut, there would be NO children’s hospice care in East and West Sussex and South East Hampshire.  Chestnut Tree House care services extend to the whole family - not just the child, but mums, dads, grandparents, sisters and brothers.  Their aim is to make every day count. The good days, the bad days and the last days.

 Chestnut Tree House rely on £3,000,000 of charitable donations per year to provide their care services. They receive no funding  the Government.  The Government only funds adult hospice care, not children’s.  It is my aim to raise £6850, enough for a single days care.

 So far I have raised just over 50% of my target.  With less than a month to go until the race I am having a final push for fundraising and would be hugely grateful of your support.

Please donate what you can here https://www.justgiving.com/Iron-Snook.  Every penny that Chestnut Tree House receives will allow them to stay open and continue to provide amazing support to life-limited children and their families.

 James

 PS – If you want to be kept up to date with my training efforts, fundraising and learn more about Steve and Louise’s story why not have a look at my blog  http://www.ironsnook.co.uk

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.