Training going well for John's charity challenge - apart from a puncture

 

* John Palmer, left, and son Nic are in training for their double triathlon challenge.

Training is going well for a Llangollen man taking part in a triathlon event this weekend in memory of his wife who died from the effects of dementia earlier this year. 

On Sunday morning he will compete in a sprint triathlon in Ellesmere, just over the border in Shropshire.  

And at the same time as he grapples with the gruelling event his son Nic, who lives in Glyndyfrdwy, will be doing the Bala Standard Triathlon at Bala Lake.

Both father and son are raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK in memory of Lyn, who was respectively their wife and mother.

John said training was going well for both of them - apart from a slight hitch with a puncture as he practiced the cycling part of the triathlon between Chirk and Ellesmere last week.

"When I got the puncture I had no alternative but to walk the bike all the way back to Chirk," he said.    

Nic is going to be doing an Olympic triathlon which consists of a I.5 km swim followed by a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run.

John, in deference to his age, is taking on a speed triathlon which is a 7.5 km in Ellesmere lake followed by a 25 km bike ride and a 5 km run.

He said: "In march of this year my wife Lyn and Nic’s mother died from dementia.  

"While she died peacefully holding my hand she was first diagnosed in 2013.  

"More and more people and their families are living with dementia. We want to raise money for Alzheimers Research to help find a way of finding a cure for the disease.

"Training is going pretty well. Most of the swimming has been in a pool but more recently we have been swimming in Lyn Tegid, which came as a bit of a shock - wetsuits essential.  

"Cycling has given me a sore bum. How the Tour de France guys do it day after day amazes me.  

"I run quite regularly anyway so that is not so much of a problem but of course that remains to be seen on the day.  I'm sure the dog will be glad when it’s over."

Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. 

It funds world-class pioneering scientists to find preventions, treatments and a cure for dementia.

* There's still time to sponsor Nic and John on their gofundme page at: https://gofund.me/99c861be