Youth and junior triathletes from Chichester Westgate Triathlon Club are taking on a swim, bike, run challenge in aid of MIND that will take them to Tokyo and back in just 50 days.
Sunday 9 August would have seen athletes from around the world parade into the Tokyo National Stadium for the closing ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games, instead, it’s the deadline by which 135 youth and junior athletes and their 14 coaches need to swim, bike and run their way to Tokyo and back by.
With the Olympics and Paralympics postponed until 2021, a number of coaches at the club commented on how they would miss the action not being on this year, something which inspired them to get creative and mark the occasion anyway.
“The challenge will see our club’s junior section covering the 19,280km in aid of MIND,” commented Nicky McCulloch, junior co-ordinator at the Chichester Westgate Triathlon Club.
“We’ve chosen MIND because there are so many adults, children and young people who currently need extra support with their mental health.
“Teenagers are particularly vulnerable and support from charities such as mind can have a real impact on their lives.”
The club are tracking the total distance that the junior section cover cumulatively, with parents sending in information from Strava and their own tracking.
“Throughout lockdown we’ve been having live Zoom and Facebook training sessions for the kids,” added McCulloch. “We’ve also hosted quizzes and various challenges to keep them entertained and active.
“We wanted to ensure the juniors stayed engaged with exercise and the club during lockdown for their mental and physical health.
“We do a lot of fundraising normally but hadn’t since the lockdown hit and this was a way in which we could put the junior’s efforts to good use and work together as a junior section for a great cause.”
You can find out more about the challenge and donate to their fundraising for MIND on their Just Giving page via the button below.
