It’s the silly season again so over the next few days I’ll be looking for a triathlon to compete in. One that doesn’t have too many hills would be nice. Thinking about this reminded me about the first time I tried a triathon and the leverage I created to make sure I actually did it. I told people about it, signed up and paid for it and then decided to raise money for orphans in Tanzania.
Then the local paper wrote a story about it and that was enough for me to make sure I had to go through with it. Read the feature below and think what external pressure would you have to put into place to ensure you went through with your most important goals.
When a determined life coach signed up to race in a triathlon he was hoping everything would go swimmingly.
But there was just one problem with his charity fundraising stunt –this time last year he could not swim properly.
Former Warwick School teacher Iain Smith, from Rural Way, Redhill, sets himself a seemingly impossible goal every year, and this Sunday he is aiming to compete in a triathlon to raise money for African orphans.
“I couldn’t do more than 10 metres of front crawl without coughing and spluttering to a halt,” he said.
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“I had to get swimming lessons in Donyngs to learn the technique and how to breathe properly.
“I could manage breaststroke but this was a race and I didn’t want to be the slowest swimmer in the pack, moving like a great big frog.
“So my first goal was to learn front crawl without drowning.
“I swallowed so much water in training that I feel personally responsible for people’s water bills going up.”
The former English teacher at Warwick School, in Noke Drive, Redhill, has been setting himself yearly “life-goals” since 2001.
Mr Smith said: “I started by doing the Great North Run, and since then I’ve written a 100,000- word novel, bought buy-to-let properties, and started an international charity called Raincatcher.”
Inspired by his charity work that helps fund water projects in Africa, Mr Smith’s goal last year was to organise a trip for Year 11 students from his school to Tanzania.
“Students from Warwick School travelled with me for three weeks.
“We had a great time doing lots of charity work, and now we are trying to raise money to pay for the schooling of 20 orphans,” he said.
The father-of-two is hoping to raise sponsorship money through completing the triathlon at the Crawley K2 leisure centre, which includes a 600-metre swim, 25-kilometre bike ride and a six-kilometre run.
“I’ve been training six days a week since last September,” he said.
“I’m not expecting to win. I just want to finish in a time that’s respectable for me and raise a good sum of money.
“Luckily you get the swimming over and done with first when you’re strongest.
“If they did it the other way round then I think there’s a good chance I would drown.”
Anyone wishing to support Mr Smith can donate by posting a cheque made payable to Raincatcher to Woolpits, Bletchingley Road, Nutfield RH1 4HN.
