Leight's Dual IronMan Challenge

2013 will be a big year for me, in that I will be attempting my first IronMan (Iron-distance) Triathlon on March 2^nd in the picturesque Lake Taupo, New Zealand.  For those of you who are not familiar with triathlon, IronMan begins with a leisurely 3.8km (2.4 mile) Swim, a sedentary 180km (112 mile) bike ride, followed by a brisk 42km (26 mile) run.  From start to finish, it will take around 12 hours.  Following on from that, just in case my body is not completely exhausted from this initial challenge, I am hoping to back up IronMan New Zealand with IronMan Australia on 5^th May, just 9 weeks later, in Port Macquarie.

Since I first heard of the event, I have always held the utmost respect for IronMan competitors and hoped that one day I would be able to complete such a challenge.  I never dreamed that I might be in a position to complete two IronMan distance races in short succession.  Notwithstanding the difficulty of the race itself, the preparation is gruelling.  Training for an endurance event in one sport is difficult enough when trying to balance family and work commitments, but training for three at the same time pushes the boundaries, sapping more time and energy than I could have ever imagined.  For the past 6 months I have been training very hard, and I have many people to thank for making that possible so that I even have a chance at completing my dual IronMan challenge.

Many people have told me that I should use this extreme personal challenge to raise money for a charity, and I have chosen the Lynne King Cancer Foundation.  Not only is this a charity which is supported by my triathlon club, but one which is close to my heart.  Cancer has affected many of my friends and family over the past few years, most of whom have had the financial means to support themselves when not working, and to pay for treatment.  However not everyone is lucky enough to have the means to pay for their cancer treatment, to support themselves and their family during their time in hospital or, in the case of young children, to have family staying close by them during such an emotionally challenging time.  The Lynne King Cancer Foundation is not a big charity, but it is one that uses donations to support cancer patients and their families whom as a result of cancer, would otherwise undergo financial hardship, or be unable to provide emotional and other support to their loved ones.

I would be most grateful for any donations to the Lynne King Cancer Foundation as a sign of support for my challenge.  When the going gets tough during IronMan, the thought of helping so many unfortunate people to fight this indiscriminate disease will no doubt help me keep going for the total 280 miles of racing that I have ahead of me.  As a further incentive to donate, my company GenericsWeb will match dollar for dollar any donations made on this page, up to the target amount fo $2000.

Please donate whatever you can, and I will do my best to complete the challenge.

UPDATE:  We have smashed the $2000 target thanks to everyone's huge support.  I have reset the target amount a little higher to see if we can encourage a few more donations.  Certainly the $5000 we have raised so far will go a long way to help this small charity, but let's see if we can't help them out even more...

One Down, One to Go!!!  On 2nd March I completed the first leg of my Ironman challenge, finishing the gruelling Ironman NZ in Lake Taupo in a time of 11 hours and 45 minutes.  When the going got tough, I thought about all of the kind support and donations received to date and this helped me to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Next stop Port Macquarie for IronMan Australia on 5th May.  Please keep the donations coming in, we are so close to hitting our target!!