Chamber Of Trade To Tackle Iron Man Challenge In Aid Of Christmas Lights Appeal

Swimming, cycling and running may not be in the usual day-to-day itinerary for most of us who run their own business. But those in the Chamber of Trade do like to push themselves to the limit.

Working as a team, three Chamber members are going to take part in a 70.3 Ironman challenge, as a way to raise funds for a charity fair that occurs at the town’s Christmas lights switch-on on 30th November.

Claire Hastie from Tutto Italia, Andy Beet from MKM Building Supplies and Phil Scaife from De Lacy Spa will be swimming, cycling and running their way round 70.3 miles of Allerthorpe Lakeland Park on 6 September.

It all came about during a Chamber of Trade meeting. Andy, who did the Beverley sprint triathlon a year ago, discovered the event and recommended that it was a great way of raising money. When Claire and Phil came forward to join him, in their respective disciplines, the concept became a concrete decision.

Phil reckoned it might be a great way to get fit and Claire believed it sounded like fun, as well as being a great way of doing some fundraising for local charities, so they stepped up to the challenge.

Claire, who teaches swimming but does not have much expertise in open water events, will be taking on the 1.1 mile swim. She will then pass on the baton to Andy, who is recovering from a snapped Achilles tendon. He has been biking to recuperate from his injury, which will culminate in a 56-mile cycle ride. Once finished, Phil – who has never run further than 5km – will complete a 13.2 mile run.

They expect the whole event to take them in the region of six and a half hours.

But, it is all for a good cause. The Chamber of Trade is heavily involved with the Christmas lights switch-on and, this year, they want to put on a fair to enable local charities to raise awareness of their services. Any money raised from sponsorship of their challenge will be put towards the fair, thereby promoting and benefiting many local charities.

Chairman of the Chamber of Trade, Indicoll’s Julian Minshall, said:

“It is absolutely fantastic that the Chamber of Trade is working together to build a better business community and putting on events that will help local charities and raise the profile of the local area. It is good to see local business leaders being passionate about the local area, stepping out of their comfort zones and taking on the challenge. We hope the local community will support us to raise the necessary funds.”

But Julian isn’t merely letting the rest do the work, with himself carrying out a sprint triathlon as a forerunner to the main event. This involves a 750m open water swim – which is just short of double his previous furthest distance, in the pool, and involves wearing a wetsuit which necessitates a different swimming technique. This is followed by a 20km cycle ride and a 5km run. Although it is getting the wetsuit on and off which Julian is dreading the most…

If anyone would like to sponsor the fab four, please contact Joy Jack on 01482 882437.