When the 2020 Manchester Marathon got cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, Sean was determined to carry on supporting Clatterbridge Cancer Charity after The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre helped her close family friend, Nicola throughout her treatment.
"Signing up for a triathlon was the easy part, the difficult part was arriving at the event and feeling out of place – everyone else just looked so professional! Having done many running events in the past, I was motivated by a family friend to sign up for a triathlon. I remember when we were sat in a pub, having a few drinks when they turned to me and said 'just remember to have fun for your first event, don’t worry about others - it’s your own race'. Two short weeks later I arrived at Whitchurch, feeling nervous but ready to take on a swim, bike and run - all in one morning.
The highlight of the event was beating my time goal and coming in 9th in my age category. Although, I definitely won’t be forgetting heading towards the run section with my helmet still on and the race marshal making lots of hand gestures telling me to remove it before starting off on the run!"
We are delighted with Sean's incredible achievement, and would like to say a huge thank you to her for raising over £200 for the Charity! Taking on a 750m swim, 20k cycle and a 5k run is no mean feat, but Sean was certainly up for the challenge and is already training for the 2021 Manchester Marathon.
A proud Sean said:
"I should be the last person anyone goes to for advice, but for anyone thinking of taking on a challenge event I would say just think of what my friend said: “just enjoy the event, don’t worry about others." Everyone is too busy worrying about themselves, no one’s going to laugh and if it helps, everyone at the event was really nice at the triathlon and no one laughed at my silly questions!"
If, like Sean you'd love to take part in a triathlon or a challenge event for Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, take a look at our selection here or get in touch with us at ccf-tr.fundraising@nhs.net or 0151 556 5566.