Martyn Clarke has completed his ‘Triathlon Impossible’ challenge – which covered more than 800 miles of swimming, biking and running across five European nations – to raise money for four Motor Neurone Disease charities.
Inspired chiefly by former rugby league star Rob Burrow, who is battling MND, Martyn mapped out an audacious trip to raise funds to fight the terrible illness.
He started with a 7km lake swim in Germany, before cycling over 700 miles through Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain.
Finishing with a ultramarathon from Leeds to Leigh Sports Village, Clarke’s fundraiser is still going – with donations split between Leeds Hospitals Charity, Motor Neurone Disease Association, The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation and My Name’s Doddie Foundation.
The Stages of Triathlon ‘Impossible’
Broken down into seven stages, Martyn started the challenge in Lake Waldsee, Frankfurt. There, he completed the first leg of the challenge, a 7km swim, before jumping on his bike to complete the first section of the ride, a 193km ride north to the City of Bonn.
Having been joined by GB Paralympian Ian Marsden from the start of the bike leg, who was hand cycling the route, Clarke was in good company and was joined by a mix of supporters throughout his trip, including work colleagues, friends and professional athletes.
Starting the second stage, the team cycled west, all whilst dealing with ferocious headwinds, through the Netherlands to the Belgian city of Hasselt, a distance of 167km. Stage three was just as brutal, as Clarke forged onwards to Calais with a 215km ride to Brugge as he tackled some of the most famous roads in cycling.
Onwards to day four and the next stage, the team cycled 196km, making it to Calais and then crossing over the channel on to home soil, where they made it up through Ashton and Maidstone to arrive in Sevenoaks.
Continuing northbound, the group took in landmarks such as Wembley Stadium and the Oval Cricket Ground as they pedalled an incredible 228km to the Leicester Tigers Stadium, the longest day of the challenge now behind them.
Stage six, the last day of cycling, took the crew to Leeds, with Clarke finishing the 181km stage to the Leeds Rhinos stadium knowing that the next day was the final push. Running on very little sleep, the Brit departed at 3am to set out on the final 92km run.
Passing iconic football grounds such as Elland Road and The Etihad, Clarke made it from Leeds through central Manchester to arrive at Leigh Stadium with minutes to spare, completing the longest ever attempted triathlon for Motor Neurone Disease in front of a crowd at the Leigh Leopards v Hull KR Super League clash.
Fundraising Efforts
Martyn is still looking to raise more money despite now reaching his target goal of £17,777 for Motor Neurone Disease charities, with money going to Leeds Hospitals Charity, Motor Neurone Disease Association, The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation and My Name’s Doddie Foundation.
Later this week, we will hear more from Clarke on his incredible challenge, including the inspiration for taking on such an audacious feat of endurance, the highs and lows from the trip itself and why raising money for the four charities is so important to him.
With fundraising ongoing, donations can be made by clicking here.
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