Ironman Adrian Raises More Than £1,000 For Hospice

St Catherine’s supporter Adrian Gregory clocked up more than 140 miles all in the aid of the Hospice in the annual ‘Iron Man’ challenge the other weekend.

Starting the day at the crack of dawn, Adrian began his gruelling journey with a 2.4 mile open water swim in Leigh.

And after completing that, Adrian was out of the water and into the saddle to complete the next part of the challenge, a 112 mile bike ride in Rivington, Chorley.

As if that wasn’t long enough, Adrian concluded the journey with a 26.2 mile run through Bolton Town Centre, and that was all whilst tackling the threat of the weather!

“When the day started, it was raining really hard,” Adrian, who raised a grand total of £1,175.00 for the hospice, said.

“I felt sorry for the people watching as they were probably just as wet as us swimming!

“Fortunately, the rain soon disappeared and it meant that the roads around the bike route were full of people supporting us which made the event even more special and it kept us all going.

“That continued through to Bolton Town centre where the roads were lined with people making a brilliant atmosphere – it made me feel proud yet relieved when I crossed the finish line.”

St Catherine’s Hospice is a charity close to Adrian’s heart for a number of reasons. His mum, Linda Gregory is Community Services Manager at the hospice, where she heads up the community Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) team – a service which is currently at risk because of a funding shortfall from the NHS.

St Catherine’s receives around a quarter of its funding from the NHS, whereas nationally on average, adult hospices receive around a third. The shortfall is currently putting the CNS team – who offer specialised care and support to people at home – at risk, although work is ongoing with the NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups to find a long-term solution.

Adrian added: “I chose St Catherine’s as I know the good work that is done by mum and everyone else there, plus I have also had one a friend that who was briefly cared for at St Catherine’s hospice.”

If you would like to donate to Adrian’s cause, visit his Justgiving page, here.

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