AN Inkberrow man who decided to get fit to benefit both his own and many other children in the process has completed a triathlon raising more than £300 for charity.
On October 2, Julian Horsley, completed a 200 metre swim, an 18km cycle ride and a 2.5km run in Stratford-upon-Avon in under one hour, raising funds for the NSPCC and finishing the challenge in 59 minutes 28 seconds.
Julian says he hadn’t run anywhere since leaving high school and hadn’t ridden a bike in his life – until four months ago when he decided to take on the triathlon in aid of the children’s charity, which helps children who have been abused to rebuild their lives and protect those at risk.
The 42-year-old said: “In early October 2015, I realised I was at my heaviest and after seeing myself in various photos, I decided enough was enough and I needed to change.
“I weighed more than 16 stone and knew that I had to do something about my diet and activity levels so I bought a FitBit and haven’t really looked back.
“As a father of two young boys, Jacob and Thomas, one of my main reasons for transforming my weight and health was to have more energy for them.
“Therefore, I felt I should try and raise some money for children less fortunate than my own.
“I’m chuffed to bits with myself – not only to have completed a triathlon, but to have beaten my target time and also raised £322 for a fantastic cause.
As well as transforming his fitness and lifestyle, Julian has lost more than four stone and is keen to continue to efforts towards good health and fitness challenges and hopes to do the Blenheim Palace Sprint triathlon next year.
Visit http://bit.ly/2dtyF6Y to support Julian. Go to https://www.nspcc.org.uk/ to find out more about NSPCC.
