Friends and colleagues for 20 years, we found out that we both had (possibly unrealistic) aspirations to do a triathlon, catching up over coffee post lockdown in the office canteen.

After quite a bit of talking about it, we decided to bite the bullet and have a go at the (misleadingly named) Sprint triathlon at Blenheim Palace in June 2024. This involves swimming 750m, cycling 20k and doing the last 5k by foot (hopefully running). Each element quite doable, we hope, although stringing all three together may be more of an issue…

As well as being a personal challenge for us both (in Rachel’s case, marking her 60th birthday last year and unlikely to be repeated in a hurry) we were keen to use the experience to do something for others. We are raising funds for YoungMinds, which is the UK's leading charity championing the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. Driven by their experience, YoungMinds creates change so that children and young people can cope with life's adversities, find help when needed and succeed in life.