Colin dedicates 365 day challenge to brave sister

Colin is attempting to complete as many physical challenges as possible within 365 days. He will dedicate the monumental challenge to his sister, Brenda Carr, who sadly passed away earlier this summer.

A year full of challenges

Colin will take on a series of ‘virtual’ challenges using equipment in his local gym, Total Fitness.

The challenges will include cycling the equivalent of Lands End to John O’ Groats; rowing the equivalent length of the River Thames; swimming the equivalent distance of the English Channel, and climbing the equivalent height of Britain’s three highest mountains. 

A personal experience of cancer

Colin was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, a rare type of cancer, in September 2007. 

He noticed a lump on his left forearm and saw his GP to get it checked out.

Tests revealed the lump was cancerous and Colin underwent surgery to have the lump removed, followed by six weeks of radiotherapy at the Christie Hospital in Manchester.

He now has check ups every four months.

In memory of Colin’s sister, Brenda

In July of this year, Colin’s sister, Brenda Carr, died following a five-year battle with breast cancer.  She was 52-years-old.

Colin said:

“Brenda was a remarkable person and a fantastic sister.  No matter how tough things got, she remained strong and positive throughout, and was a real inspiration to everyone that knew her.

“Losing her when we did has been incredibly tough for the whole family and has been a real motivation for me to want to do something in her memory.

“Having my own experience with cancer has spurred me on even more and I wanted to set myself a really tough physical challenge to raise money for a very, very important cause.”

He added: “I came up with the idea of doing as many challenges as possible in 365 days and I wanted these to make real physical demands of me, so that I really earn my sponsors’ support.

“Due to the nature of my work, I’m unable to go and literally undertake these challenges. So instead, I decided to do the equivalent using equipment at my local gym.

“Although it is going to be physically tough, I am really looking forward to pushing myself to the limit and hope to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK as a result.”

To sponsor Colin please visit http://www.justgiving.com/365challenge.

If you have been inspired by Colin to plan your own fundraising challenge, request a fundraising pack to help you get started.