2011's fundraising begins....

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So what is this post about? it is about one of the things I do every year around this year - try to raise some money for the silly endurance sport I take part in - yes triathlon!

This year (as you will be able to see from the counters on the right) I am taking part in

 not one half ironman (2009 challenge), not one ironman (2010 challenge), but three half ironman races! 

The races are spaced out over the course of the 2011 race season:

The Marshman 2011 (8^th May - http://www.velocity-events.co.uk/marshman-and-mini-marshman/) – a fast and (almost) flat course covering 1.9km lake swim, 92km bike and a
21km run.

The IRONMAN UK 70.3 (19^th June - http://www.ironmanuk.com/2011/) – one of the world’s hardest half ironman races covering 1.9km lake swim, 91km bike (with 1800m climbing) and a 21km run (with 400m climbing).

The IRONMAN Ireland 70.3 (4^th September - http://ironmanireland.com/) – a brand new event for 2011 - The event begins with a 1.9K swim in the crystal-clear waters of Galway Bay before taking on a challenging 90K bike course finishing with a 21km run through the Salthill area of Galway.

All in all, a pretty fantastic line up – in addition, I might throw in an Olympic (1.5km swim/40km bike/10km run) distance triathlon and maybe a couple of open water swimming races (there is a 1.5km race at Dorney lake (the Olympic 2012 rowing venue)) – depending on time, life and job!

Every year since I got serious about triathlon I have tried to raised a little cash for good causes – in total this is now over £2500 (with GiftAid), and this year is no different. Despite the ecomonic downturn last year I still managed to raise nearly a thousand pounds Please help me to do the same this year.

Before I write this post I spent some time thinking about which charity I should support. I am not keen of sending money to an anonymous organisation who loose significant amounts in admin costs and don’t pass as much as they can onto those who need it most, but instead I prefer to find a charity which is small and needs support for the hard work they do. This year I am raising money for the Urostomy Association (https://www.urostomyassociation.org.uk/home.php, Registered Charity number: 1131072). 

They are a fabulous small charity who assist those who are about to undergo or who have undergone surgery which results in a urinary diversion, such as a urostomy, continent urinary pouch or neo bladder. In addition they assist carers in the rehabilitation of people with a urinary diversion and improve the quality of life of people who have undergone urinary diversion surgery and those who care for them.

So why them? Well, about seven years ago my mother had a urostomy, subsequently followed by a colostomy. It is a major surgical procedure which very nearly killed her, due to the post op infection. If you do not know anyone who has had either of these procedures you will not realise how life changing they are. There is a whole realm of challenges and difficulties they present. The members and staff of the UA were of great help to my mother and my father in that learning period and in the years that followed. I simply want to show my thanks to them by “doing my bit”. Any amount large or small will help this small charity immensely so (if you can) please be generous!

In the meantime please keep coming back to see how things are coming along - or alternatively just follow me on twitter (@isainsbury) where I tend to post shorter but more regular updates on my training. 

Later

Iain.