When I sat down to write this first entry I was pretty confident that I’d know what to write, but now I’m staring at a blank computer screen I’m suddenly lost for words. Okay, unusual for me, but it happens. So I suppose a good way to begin is by replying to some of the questions that have been thrown at me about this challenge.

What is “Race the Sun”?
Well, it’s kind of triathlon. Teams of four will be cycling 50 miles, climbing & descending Helvellyn and kayaking around Thirlmere in the Lake District on Saturday 6th September between sunrise and sunset. There will be about 50 teams entering it this year, all of whom will be raising money for Action Medical Research - a UK charity that’s been doing some amazing work and helping improve quality of life for many many people over the years.

Who’s on the team?
Well, there’s me, Jason Mahoney from the Marsh Academy Leisure Centre, David Roder from Red Carrot and Lewis Jenkins also from Red Carrot. Our ages range from early 30s to early 40s. Our fitness levels vary from above average to breaking into a sweat opening a bag of crisps. Our combined experience of cycling, kayaking and mountain climbing is almost zero. But our determination to do well is without doubt!

Why are we doing this?
Well I think we all share one common goal, which is to prove to ourselves as thirty- & forty-somethings that we can rise to the occasion and can complete a demanding physical & mental challenge, and we will live to tell the tale. However we all also have our own personal goals too. I want to get fitter than I’ve ever been, and in so doing to raise a big lump of cash for a great charity. I know the others do too, but I’ll leave it to them to tell you in future blog updates.

Why are you doing a blog?
For two reasons really. Number one is to try and get people reading it, and hopefully to encourage them to do something similar. Number two is to let people who’ve sponsored us know how we’re getting on, and to see that they’re getting value for money. We are all going to be training very hard, putting a lot of effort into this and I want everyone to know that we’ve really earned their sponsorship money. I’m hoping we can keep the blog updated regularly; there are four of us, so we’ll be taking turns and will be letting you all know how we’re getting on.

So what are you doing now?
Well, tomorrow (17th May) will be our first full team training session. We are going to be cycling around Winchelsea and Pett, climbing some steep slopes and practising our fast descents, getting our bikes sorted out and hopefully covering about twenty miles in a couple of hours.

Watch this space for updates and to see how we are getting on. And don’t forget…we need your support, so sponsor us…..go to the home page, click on the link and make a donation….PLEASE!!

All the best,

Jason

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Race The Sun 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.