M Grisenthwaite
The Iron Survivor swims/rides/runs again Outlaw Triathlon 25.7.21
Fundraising for Cyclists Fighting Cancer
Story
As we all know 2020 didn’t go according to plan for anyone. Ironman Estonia on September 5th 2020 was only the second Ironman Race anywhere in the world year and I was lucky enough to take part in both! It wasn’t twenty but I’ve did my best in the circumstances.
So this year I have a stack of paid entries to last year’s events that I plan to do if allowed. For now the only certainty is the Outlaw Full Distance (Ironman distance 2.4,112,26.2) Triathlon on Sunday 25th July 2021 at Nottingham. The challenge is still to get myself around in one piece and then see where the rest of the summer leads…..
Thanks to everyone who has supported me so far.
The Original 20in20 challenge.
In 2020 it will be twenty years since I was first diagnosed with incurable non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and fifteen years since a lifesaving donor bone marrow transplant, I felt it was time for a big challenge for my charity Cyclists Fighting Cancer.
Everyday four families in the UK are told that their child has cancer, I feel passionately about supporting these families along this difficult journey. So I've set myself a challenge to celebrate twenty years of life post cancer diagnosis.
Exactly how far can a 57 year old, 20 year cancer surviving, bone marrow transplant recipient push his body, where are the physical boundaries? Hopefully my body can sustain a race every two weeks. Beyond physical breakdown what's the worst that can happen in a year of competing internationally? How about Illness, injury, accidents, flight delays, weather events, lost luggage (bike), being eaten by a shark?! Or perhaps a global pandemic!
One Ironman Triathlon race
- 2.4 miles/3.8k of open water swimming
- 112 miles/180k of road cycling
- 26.2 miles/42.2k marathon run
Twenty Ironman Triathlon races
- 48 miles/76k of swimming,
- 2,240 miles/3,600k of cycling
- 524 miles/844k of running.
Why #20in20?
Please note: This challenge is being wholly funded by myself from my personal pension fund. :)
The idea I came up with was to do twenty events bin 2020, that was a good idea, right? So why not have a go at doing twenty full distance Ironman triathlons.
You can do your own 20in20 by the way, it doesn't have to be 20 Ironmans, you can come up with your own version, all the details are on the CFC website.
As well as continuing the work of CFC, I wanted this to be a thank you to everyone who has supported me and CFC over the years, I also want to use this daunting challenge to highlight the benefits of exercise and activity for cancer survivors and the work done by organisations who have helped me and to thank some of the inspiring people I have met over the past twenty years.
Thank you for reading, I hope you can support my efforts. You can see a full itinerary and follow my progress on the following sites.
www.ironsurvivor.org to find out more. Follow @theironsurvivor on instagram and twitter
More about CFC. Since 2005 CFC have helped over 6,000 children on the road to regaining their physical fitness, strength and confidence by giving them new bikes, adapted trikes and offer specialist activity support during treatment and then into recovery.
