Pre-March plans 2020:

• 96 km swim AROUND the Isle of Wight (estimated 24-26hours)
• 93 km bike ride AROUND the Isle of Wight 
• 42 km (marathon distance) ACROSS the Isle of Wight
• 3 Days

Post COVID update, TRIsle 2.0:

• 13km swim / 100km bike / 42km run... ONE DAY

This challenge is for my dad, Mark Blanchard. Born and raised on the Isle of Wight, dad was a keen athlete that could regularly been seen swimming at Gurnard Bay or more often than not, cycling around the island. He was chairman of Vectis Cycling Club from 2013 until 2016 when he was diagnosed with Progressive Supra Nuclear Palsy (PSP). This challenge is to raise awareness for the condition and the support that is required to care for a loved one that is diagnosed with it.

As the name suggests, PSP is a progressive neural disease that officially falls under the Parkinson’s umbrella. But where Parkinson’s disease is caused by damage to a specific area of the brain (the basal ganglia), PSP affects the entire brain. This results in a very aggressive deterioration and affects everything; balance, mobility, speech, sight, memory, decision making… everything. Dad was diagnosed officially in 2017 although the family suspect he had the condition for a couple of years before this. Estimates vary but this very rare condition affects around 3 in 100,000 and because we don’t fully understand it, there is no cure and no way of slowing the progression.

The hospice, through the John Cheverton centre, has provided a day service for dad and others like him that offers respite to careers, a warm and friendly environment where he can socialise, exercise with a physio, get a much needed massage, enjoy coffee and cake and generally break up his week. The centre relies entirely on donations and the generosity of its volunteers.