If you thought one triathlon looked hard enough, try taking on 24 in as many hours!
That is exactly the challenge Mark Walford from Arundel, Sussex has set himself on Friday June 27, when he begins his epic charity fundraiser.
The 41-year-old is raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK – and is already almost half way to his £3,000 target.
“Crazy but also achievable”
Walford said: “I want to challenge myself to something that seems crazy but also achievable. For the last 20 years I have worked in health and social care. For the last 10, mainly supporting those with dementia.
“Pretty much every day I am going into a care home where people’s lives have been affected by dementia and I see daily how people’s lives are affected by it.
“The individual and their family members. I train the staff to give the best possible care we can. This year I’ve teamed up with Alzheimer’s Research UK because they aren’t just about support, they’re about finding a cure. Every penny I raise for my challenge will go to them.”
24 Super Sprints in 24 hours
Walford, a father of two who has delivered training in hundreds of care homes over his career, starts his challenge at 7pm on Friday 27 June.
He will be attempting to complete a Super Sprint Triathlon – which involves a 400m swim, a 10km bike ride, and a 2.5km run – every hour on the hour, using the community pool at St Peter’s Primary School in Cowfold, near Horsham, cycling 10km through the local villages and then running through Cowfold.
He said: “I love sport and in the last few years I have got into triathlon. Sometimes it can be a little bit selfish. A lot of the time I’m going out training, doing my own thing.
Outside the comfort zone
“But this year I have decided to do something bigger than me. I wanted to to do something that captured the imagination and go well outside my comfort zone.”
Walford, who has been fascinated by 24-hour challenges since boyhood, has been in training since October 2024 and believes his challenge has never been attempted before.
Midnight runs
Training has included waking up at midnight to run and cycle through the night, and he puts in “eight to 16 hours” a week, all while continuing to hold down his full-time job. But he told TRI247 he is “quietly confident.”
And speaking on his Insta, he said: “My triathlons historically have taken about an hour. A Super Sprint should take me about 45 minutes. I don’t know why I came up with this idea but it seems to have captured the imagination!”
To sponsor Mark, visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/mark-walford-24hour-tri.
And you can follow his challenge attempt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/24hourtri.
