Hi everyone
Well here we go again as we start the Blogs to commence our journey for my personal challenge of 3 + 2 + 1 = Charity. The journey last time was my build up to Ultraman Australia and the feedback was tremendous with the support everyone gave me in responding to the blogs and providing encouragement for my journey.
The journey this time for those that missed the announcement on Friday 1 July is 3 + 2 + 1 = Charity. This means I am using 6 events to fundraise for my chosen charity of the ‘Fallen Heroes’ (KIWI = Killed, Injured, Wounded and Ill) where the funds I raise I will divert to supporting the children of the Fallen.
The 3 + 2 + 1 = Charity is:
3 x Half Ironman events over 3 consecutive weekends (IronMaori on 3 December 2016, Taupo 70.3 on 10 December 2016, and Rotorua Half Ironman on 17 December 2016),
2 x Ironman Distance events over 2 weeks (Challenge Wanaka on 18 February 2017, and Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand (Taupo) on 4 March 2017), and
1 x Ultraman event over 1 long weekend (Ultraman Australia on 13-15 May 2017).
The distances are horrendous and when in Waiouru this weeks for a few days with work, I sat down and thought ‘gee I better have a look at this’. The distances for the respective events are:
IronMaori Half Ironman distance is listed as 2 km swim, 90 km cycle and 21.1 km run.
Taupo 70.3 distance is listed as a 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycle and 21.1 km run.
Rotorua Half Ironman distance is listed as a 2 km swim, 90 km cycle and a 21 km run.
The distances for both Challenge Wanaka and Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand are listed as a 3.8 km swim, 180 km cycle, and 42.2 km run.
The distance for Ultraman Australia is listed as a 10 km swim, 421.1 km cycle and a 84.3 km run.
So what do these distances add up to:
Swimming = 23.5 kilometres,
Cycling = 1,051.1 kilometres, and
Running = 231.9 kilometres
Total distances overall = 1,306.5 kilometres
Wow, what a journey and all in the name of 3 + 2 + 1 = Charity, plus god knows how many kilometres of each discipline Coach Ray will have me travelling in training.
The 3 + 2 + 1 = Charity for UltraHumps was announced on Friday 1 July 2016 to coincide with my 50th birthday, with the enclosed photo to kick this off showing the birthday cake my partner sneakily had made for me and presented at my small gathering. When I announced to the gathering how I was testing myself with reaching the half century milestone, there was certainly some looks of astonishment, but lots of comments of support from everyone.
Thank you team. I will keep you posted with my weekly blog of how the training and journey goes, under the watchful guidance of Coach Ray Boardman for Qwik Kiwi Endurance Sports Consultants.
Regards UltraHumps (John Humphries aka Humps)