Job Done.

On Sunday 28th July 2024 the last of my eight 75th Year challenges (the swim across the Swale at Harty) were completed.

What an adventure it has been. The most memorable of the challenges have been the ones where others have joined in. The swim across the Swale for instance, I was joined by my younger sister Diane and my good friend Garry, who swam the distance with me. The Yorkshire Dales Three Peaks Challenge, we had the Harwood Building Control Team along with some of my friends and family joining in.

The 75k cycle time trial where I was joined by Matt, Garry, John and Dom all fellow construction industry professionals, cycling with me (me in their slip stream most of the time).

The Trans Pennine Trail by tandem, and The Kayak around the isle of Sheppey, my wife Davina was my fantastic team member. These two challenges were particularly grueling. The tandem ride with bad weather as well as the distance to cover each day and the Kayak challenge, paddling non-stop for over nine hours to cover the thirty-three miles in one day.

There were lots of ups and downs, and four months of not being able to train, due to being out of action with Sciatica, was particularly frustrating and caused the challenges to run over the one year planned to do them by a couple of months..

The walk from Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral by the Old Pilgrims Way route, covering over a hundred miles in four days, started the whole adventure off. Again, I had some company on the last day with my sister Diane joining me for part of the last leg of the journey.

The high points of the challenges for me personally were completing my first half marathon at 75 years of age and a triathlon at 76. It is for me particularly pleasing, as although I have always been a keen walker and have done quite a bit of cycling over the years, I only started running to prepare for this set of challenges.

The sad truth though is that over the period that I have been running, walking, cycling swimming and paddling, over three thousand people have paid the ultimate price from being exposed to Asbestos! Most of them succumbing to Mesothelioma which is the cancer that can only be caused by exposure to Asbestos. Please spare a thought for these people, people like them and their families, people that Mesothelioma Uk help and support.

If any of my adventures over the last year and a bit have inspired you in any way, you don’t have to put yourself through the same grueling training regime or even get off the chair. I did it for you! Just please be generous and donate to my Just Giving Page

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.