Cycle ride success for Olympian Holly Bleasdale and fiancé Paul Bradshaw

Olympian Holly Bleasdale got on her bike for a charity cycle ride in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice.
She was joined on the 30 mile ride by her fiancé Paul Bradshaw – who completed the challenge on top of the gruelling Liverpool Marathon.
He completed the 26.2 mile race in a personal best time of 3 hours 18 minutes, before meeting Holly at the finish line to cycle back to her family home in Euxton, Chorley.

They completed the ride in 2 hours 39 minutes on bikes donated by Condor Cycles, before celebrating with a home-coming hotpot at Holly’s parent’s house.
They are still busy collecting sponsorship for their amazing efforts but expect to raise more than £1,000 to support the work of St Catherine’s Hospice.
The fundraiser came as the couple prepare to move temporarily to the US, where Holly, 20, is set to work with new coach Dan Pfaff.
They recently re-located from Leyland to Cardiff to be close to the American ‘super coach’s’ UK base, and will make the temporary move to Phoenix, Arizona, next month – where he is based between competitive seasons.
The former Parklands School pupil, who is the British record holder in the pole vault, said: “We had a great time on the bike ride.
“My wrists and bum were a little sore afterwards! But I didn’t feel too tired and my legs were okay – we were lucky the route was quite flat and the weather was nice.
“It felt really good to be giving something back and supporting such a great cause, and I was pleased to be there for Paul – giving him that extra push towards the finish line, when he’d already worked so hard in the marathon.
“As much as I enjoyed it I will be sticking to the pole vault for now! I am really excited about heading out to America to work with a new coach – I’m sure it will spur me on to train even harder and improve.”

Paul, 24, who met Holly whilst training at Blackburn Harriers, said completing the double challenge had been extremely tough – but also incredibly rewarding.
The former teacher in the sports department at Runshaw College, who is now also a full-time athlete in the 800m, wanted to do something to support the hospice after his grandma Renee Bradshaw was cared for on the In-Patient Unit during her battle with cancer.
Paul said: “I was really happy to achieve a personal best in the marathon.
“I went quite fast at the start but the last six miles were a struggle, although I was determined I wasn’t going to walk.
“Every time I thought about stopping I would think of my grandma, and all the other people who are cared for by the hospice and that would keep me going. The atmosphere on the marathon route – with bands playing and people cheering – was also really uplifting.
“It felt good to get on the bike at the end of the race – it was nice not have the impact of my legs pounding on the pavement any more. It went well for about 20 miles, but the last 10 miles were really tough, especially out in the countryside where the roads seemed to go on with no end in sight! Holly was great at keeping me going and pushing me on. It felt amazing to reach Chorley and know we’d done it, and raised cash for such a great cause.”
The event was also a brilliant way for St Catherine’s Hospice to round-off Hospice Care Week – a nationwide campaign aimed at promoting the value and importance of hospice care, which ended on Sunday.
Norman Cutler, senior fundraiser at the hospice, said: “We are enormously grateful to Paul and Holly for their Olympic efforts for St Catherine’s.
“The money they have raised will make a real difference to people living with conditions which can be treated but not cured across Preston, Chorley, Longridge and South Ribble.
“We thank them for their wonderful support.”
You can still sponsor Holly and Paul by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/Paul-Bradshaw1

Share with your friends!