To fellow Roulers and Roulettes .

As most of you know, in recent years I have developed an affiliation and love for cycling, and often this love extends to two other disciplines, being swimming and running. Which puts me in the triathlon scene. In recent years I have competed in a range of events, from open water swims, olympic distance tris, duathlons and half Iron man events, and often dreamed (dreaded) the day I actually sign up for the full Iron man. Well, this day I often wondered of, came to a reality last week. I have registered to compete in the Busselton Iron man in December this year.

For those of you that are not into the triathlon scene, this is a huge event, a lot of international athletes travel to compete, it gets a lot of publicity and is a qualifying event for the world championships, held on the Island of Kona, Hawaii. On top of all this, it has been identified as the official fundraiser for ’The Smiddy Foundation’ for the next three years. Which is what brings me to this post.
I have recently been inspired by a young and dedicated triathlete known by the name of ’Smiddy’, and you too can read his story at the link provided below.
http://www.smiddy.org.au
Also take a moment to read the following link, this article was recently published in the Australian Triathlete and Multisport Magazine.

http://online.speedmarketing.com.au/download/files/13535/1807966/TMSM%20Smiddy%20Article.pdf

So not only have I registered and committed to competing in the event on the 8th of December, I have also committed to fundraising $1000, which will be directly contributed to melanoma awareness, and raising much needed funds for future cancer research. This brings me to the rare opportunity to compete in an otherwise sold out event, and believe it or not, it sells out within hours of release. The only entry opportunities left were through this wonderful fundraising opportunity. My contribution will be the fundraised amount of at least $1000, my entry fee of $800 will also go to the foundation.
I have never attempted anything of this magnitude, and am already feeling a little daunted by the amount of training, dedication and support that will be required to successfully complete this event. I have never ridden 180kms, and never ran a marathon, so there is plenty of training ahead for me. Although I know this challenge will bring many physical and mental challenges for me, I am aware it is minimal compared to what cancer sufferers themselves and their families face.
A story I would like to share, and It seems there are many people that have had a family member, friend or work colleague that has been affected by this horrible and aggressive disease in some shape or form. My dad recently suffered from prostate cancer, he fortunately caught it early enough to have a radical prostatectomy, to remove the prostate, cancer and surrounding tissues. However there was, and still is always a concern and underlying worry of whether the cancer was totally removed, will it come back and the unknown of the future. I am fortunate to be sharing a positive story, of a disease that we all know can be extremely aggressive and take loved ones away from us.
So here is my plea. Please help me try and achieve my personal fundraising goal, and if you can, come and watch me sweat it out at Busso in December. For donations i have provided my fundraising page below, it should be easy to navigate, if you have any questions, please contact me.

http://www.smiddyfundraising.com.au/kizzi_neale

For those of you that are not sure what an Iron man entails, keep reading.
3.8km swim, which will be out and around the iconic Busselton Jetty
180 gruelling kms on a very uncomfortable bike, AND
a marathon distance run to finish, 42kms.
I have no finish time in mind, at the moment anyway. However, those of you that know me better, know this will probably change as the training progresses.
No, but seriously i will be delighted to even just cross the finish line, and know that i have been able to contribute to such a fantastic cause.

Any queries, questions or words of encouragement please contact me. I’ll be around a lot on the bike over the next few months, on strava and email.