|  |  |  | | | | LARGEST CHARITY TEAM TACKLES TRIATHLON | | | | |
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Release Date: 8th August 2005
Over 450 triathletes from the Leukaemia Research Triathlon team took part in the Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon last weekend (6th/7th August 2005), making them the largest charity team in the event to date.
Dressed in the now infamous bright yellow t-shirts, the team nicknamed the "Banana Army" swam, cycled and ran, in the bid to raise vital cash for the charity. It is hoped the efforts of the team, which included a Network Rail team of 75 employees, will raise around £250,000 for Leukaemia Research, the UK's leading blood cancer charity.
"It was another fantastic year," said John Hooper, the charity’s Sporting Event Manager. "The Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon is the world's largest triathlon event and the atmosphere over the weekend was great."
To celebrate the fifth year of the charity taking part in the event, five brave triathletes swapped their running t-shirts for 6ft tall banana lycra suits, all in the bid to raise £5,000 from their efforts.
For some, taking part in a triathlon doesn’t come naturally. "I just really wanted to do something big before I was 40," said Elaine McLaren, 39, a self-confessed 'couch potato' from Colchester. "It was my first ever triathlon and so I took on a hard training regime to get fit."
Elaine and the rest of the team received a boost in June, when they attended a free team training day in Esher, Surrey.
"It really helped having a chance to get some top tips and training advice from some world-class performance coaches," said Elaine. "I was quite apprehensive about the swimming, but after getting a chance to swim in a wetsuit, I felt more confident for the rest of the training in the run up to the event."
Starting at the Royal Victoria docks, over 8,000 entrants in total took part in what has become the fastest growing multidiscipline sport in the UK. Many who took part in the event for the charity had some very touching stories.
37-year-old Andrew Wyeth, from Merstham in Surrey, took on the triathlon in memory of his mother Gwyneth, who died aged 66.
"My mother died of myeloma three years ago and so last year I took up triathlons as they are a great way of keeping fit, with the added bonus of helping Leukaemia Research fund its vital research," said Andrew.
Triathlons have fast become popular over the last few years – even for non-sporty types, as they can get friends or colleagues to join in team triathlons and each complete one of the events. The charity has seen a huge increase in the number of application for triathlon events over the past year, especially as it is the official charity for Human Race, which organises triathlons throughout the UK, and one of the gold charities for the Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon and the Blenheim Triathlon.
The team, supported by Triandrun, Asics, Science in Sport and SwimForTri, has included big names such Stuart Hayes – one of the world’s top triathletes and celebs including Channel Four’s Jon Snow and ex-Communications Director Alastair Campbell.
Building on the success of raising over £1/2million from triathlons alone this year, the Leukaemia Research Banana Army Triathlon team are looking forward to a great 2006 with an even bigger team.
To join them, log on to www.banana-army.com
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