On the 19th, 20th and 21st July I will be swimming over three miles in open water, cycling 118 miles around Dartmoor and then running offroad for 26 miles. This is all in aid of the Plymouth District Leukaemia Fund who do so much for the cancer patients on Birch Ward at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital. My wife is one of those patients. You are all invited to come along and join in with the fun and games. Please click on the banner below to donate and show your support.
The swim has now been moved forward a day to provide better water conditions. The draft schedule is as follows:
Friday 19th July 2013:
- Swim: Bigbury Beach to Mothecombe Beach – Approx 3.2 miles 10.30am to 12.30pm.
Saturday 20th July 2013:
- Cycle: 118 miles, a circumnavigation of Dartmoor with approx. 11200ft of ascent 8am to 6pm. Click here for GPX of the route.
Sunday 21st July 2013:
- Run: Ivybridge to Princetown and back over Dartmoor, 28 miles with 3000ft of ascent.
- Finish: McCaulays Health Club, Ivybridge
I will not be travelling fast and will welcome company at any point. Your support will be appreciated whether it is for 1 mile or for 100 miles. This is a personal challenge though and not an organised one so you will be responsible for your own safety and transport. If you can’t make it on the weekend, but would like to show your support then I will be shortly adding a link so that you can donate directly to the PDLF.
Support so far (in no particular order):
- The Plymouth Triathlon Club have adopted the PDLF as their chosen charity for this years Plymouth Triathlon Race on the 14th July.
- The Devon and Cornwall Wild Swimmers are keen to come along for the swim, and one of them has been kind enough to offer canoe cover as well.
- McCaulays Health Club at Ivybridge are going to try and run an Open Day for the 21st July so that people can come along and try out their facilities for a small donation to the PDLF, and they will be hosting my finish line for the run on the Sunday.
If you can think of anyway that you would like to join in, or could help out then please do get in touch richard@bikerunswim.co.uk
Please note that this is not an organised event so if you do join me then it will be at your own risk. The swimming section in particular should only be attempted by experienced open water swimmers that know they can complete the distance. It will most likely be choppy and there will be small currents in varying directions as we follow the coastline. They wont all be in our favour, and there is some great advice that should be read by everyone contemplating joining me for the swim here: http://www.devonandcornwallwildswimming.co.uk/swimsafe
Background
This page has changed significantly since my wife was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer known as Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Originally I had 8 marathons planned, The Outlaw Triathlon and Ironman Wales amongst other things. My spare time has since been cut hugely while I hold down my day job, look after my kids and support my wife as best I can. You can read about our fight with cancer here: www.theleukaemiaconclusion.co.uk
This isn’t all over though…..My focus has changed to cancer charities and this year I will be setting myself a challenge of greater than Ironman proportions all in aid of the Plymouth District Leukaemia Fund instead of some of my other challenges. This will save us some money, in entry fees, travel and accommodation and has given me the chance to do something truly unique, amazing and incredibly challenging.
Through 2012 and 2013 I am running 6 marathons offroad, plus one ultra in May if all goes well. All of my training will be squeezed in around my now incredibly busy daily schedule, somehow!! I am also doing a bunch of other races, although the schedule has been trimmed a bit.
I always wanted to do something amazing for charity, but I tend to do a lot of crazy sporting things, so I’ve been looking for something that would truly test me and that would be of such a scale that I would feel that it would be worth asking people for money for. I felt that an Ironman was such an event and to be doing two Iron distance events within two months would have been a huge achievement. As a rough guide an Ironman features an open water 2.5 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full marathon, all in one day and around a 17 hour time limit. With my wife’s leukaemia causing a significant re-prioritisation in my life I don’t have quite as much time to train and it is harder to stay motivated, so I’ve decided to whittle my ambitions down to one three day challenge. It will cost a lot less, and it wont matter quite so much if I’m not at full competitive Ironman fitness.
Here is my re-worked event list. Items in bold have been completed:
- 22nd July – Frome inaugural half marathon (Completed 36th in 1hr 36 mins)
- 19th August – Bradley Wiggins Foundation Ride (Barnoldswick) (Completed 196th in 7 hours 14 mins)
- 26th August – Millfield School Middle Distance Triathlon – Completed 10th of 34 in 04:56:54
9th Sept – Etape Cymru Cycle Sportive – DNS14th Sept – Tour Ride Wales – DNS- 15/16th Sept – Marshalling on Ironman Wales – Completed
- 23 Sept – Bath Challenge Distance Triathlon (800m, 40km, 10km) Completed 11th out of 45. Swim 17:42, Cycle 1:21:46, Run, 43:17
- 30th Sept – Hever Castle Olympic Triathlon Completed 188th out of 696 total time 02:55:13
- 6th Oct – Endurancelife CTS Marathon in Pembrokeshire Completed 11th out of 30 in 5:09:52
- 4th Nov – Plymouth 10k (in fancy dress). 42:29
- 10th Nov – Endurancelife CTS Marathon in the Gower. 53rd out of 83 starters and 79 finishers. 6:42:24
- 8th Dec – Endurancelife CTS Marathon in Dorset. 79th out of 108 starters and 99 finishers. 7:4:20
- 19th Jan – Endurancelife CTS Marathon in Anglesey - DNS due to Sam’s illness
- 9th Feb – Endurancelife CTS Marathon in South Devon - Entered. 85th out of 124 starters and 110 finishers. 6:57:57
- 23rd March – Endurancelife CTS Marathon in Sussex - Entered. 62 out of 170 starters. 5 hours and 5 mins.
- 13th April – Endurancelife CTS Marathon in Exmoor - Completed 5hrs 50 mins with 8000 ft climbing.
- 28th April – Plymouth Half Marathon - Entered, running as Dangermouse
- 12th May – Etape Caledonia Cycle Sportive
- 26th May – Endurancelife CTS ULTRA in Flete - Entered
- 9th June – Wiggle Dragon Ride
- 23rd June – Cholmondeley Castle Olympic Triathlon - Entered
- JULY – MY CHALLENGE (Cool name yet to be decided!!)
- 4th August – Ride London. Place accepted and paid for
- 29th Sept – Hever Gauntlet Triathlon (Half iron distance)
What next? After all this we will have to see. My priorities have been blown out of the water with Sam’s illness. I’d still love to compete at triathlon on the world stage, but I have to put my family first. You can read all about my wife’s fight with cancer on our blog at www.theleukaemiaconclusion.co.uk
