READ MY BLOG AT runningwithdiane.blogspot.co.uk

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UNTIL the end of June 2014, I had never sat on a bike in my life and couldn’t swim a stroke – so it seems only logical that I do a triathlon!

It's all in memory of my beautiful wife Diane, who lost her courageous battle against breast cancer in February 2013. She is my eternal inspiration and the reason I am doing this crazy thing.

The first challenge was to learn to swim and ride in time for my first “fun” (as they so whimsically call it) triathlon at Nantwich in September. I managed it - after a fashion! Now the sights are set higher. I aim to do my first Olympic distance triathlon - swimming 1500m in open water, cycling 40k and running 10k - this summer and have entered the Deva Triathlon, The Castle Triathlon at Cholmondeley in Cheshire and TriLiverpool - I aim to do all three but I'll be thrilled to get one of them nailed!

I don’t quite know how I came to be doing this, but I am. It’s kind of happened by accident. I am the Accidental Triathlete.  I completed my first marathon for Breast Cancer Care in honour of Diane in May at the Liverpool Rock N Roll Marathon, just over a year since I was 24 stone and struggling to get up a flight of stairs. I needed an even bigger challenge and someone said the word triathlon and I was hooked on the idea.

During 2013, following Diane's death, I lost nearly nine stone, dropped five shirt sizes and took eight inches off my waist to get ready for my marathon challenge. It’s been life-changing and hopefully Diane’s bravery and my determination will inspire others to do the same for this fantastic charity and change their lives, too.

Now here I am, a marathon runner. One down and more to come. But a triathlon? Oh, go on, then. All right, so I swim like a ship’s anchor and I look like I’m cycling through an earthquake. But that’s all part of the fun of the challenge.

I’ve learned to dream that anything is possible. Sometimes those dreams become real, like in Liverpool, sometimes the answer is no, like when I dreamed that one day Diane would be well again.

Hundreds of thousands of families in this country are living their daily lives under the dark cloud of cancer. Those hundreds of thousands of families need Breast Cancer Care, so please help however you can. 

**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.