Minster colleagues achieve Ironman status for Movember

Two of our colleagues have raised an impressive £4100 for Movember by taking part in the gruelling Ironman triathlon challenge in Hamburg, Germany. Marc Massey, Claims Manager, and Tom Giles, Trainee Solicitor, competed in Ironman to raise awareness for the Movember Foundation, a charity addressing some of the biggest health concerns that men face; prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention.

Ironman attracts thousands of athletes from around the world. Starting from the heart of Hamburg city, the course includes a 3.8 km swim course, a two-loop 180 km bike course and a final 42.2 km run which consists of four loops.

The duo undertook an intensive training programme and documented their journey through a dedicated social page, hosting a number of fundraising activities along the way to boost donations for Movember.

Marc said: “I’ve had a personal attachment to the Movember Foundation since my testicular cancer diagnosis in December 2014, and I have become an ambassador for the charity since. I’ve always wanted to “tick off” an Ironman from the list as I’ve set my sights on doing a bigger and harder challenge after each one I’ve completed.”

“I have to say that the last month in the lead up to the event has been really tough. We’ve had to squeeze in the last of our long rides and runs to make sure we were fit enough to do the event itself, but also to make sure we stayed injury free as well. After setting such a big fundraising target, I was determined to focus as much of our efforts into trying to achieve our target before the event to support Movember. The weeks quickly turned into days and hours, and everything seemed like a mad rush, especially as we had to make our way to Hamburg.”

Tom said: “We chose Movember based upon how much work Marc has done for them previously and that it’s a fantastic charity that everybody can relate too. Most people have heard about Ironman and we knew what it entailed and how hard it is, so we thought this would be the perfect challenge. The lead up to the event was when we began to get anxious. A couple of weeks before the event you are supposed to ‘taper’ which effectively means only light exercise to avoid injury. You’re always questioning yourself whether you’ve done enough during this period of time, and trying not to eat too much too! When the event was about to start there was a fantastic atmosphere and loud music was being played around the city. Because of the buzz you were nervous to get in the lake for the swim but excited to get going!”

“Crossing the line was a fantastic feeling, it made all the pain in the last 15 and a half hours worth it. The atmosphere was fantastic and there was a huge crowd cheering you on. To see our family and friends on the finish line proudly looking on is a sight I won’t forget in a while.”

Minster is dedicated to supporting colleagues with their social responsibility and has sponsored both Marc and Tom’s fundraising efforts with wetsuits, trisuits and cycle jerseys for the Ironman and the run up events. To read more about our corporate social responsibility, please click here.