IRONMAN FOR HOSPICE
So the story goes - During an awards banquet for the Waikiki Swim Club, John Collins, a Naval Officer stationed in Hawaii, and his wife Judy, began playing with the idea of combining the three toughest endurance races into one race. They decided to issue a challenge to see who the toughest athletes were: swimmers, bikers, or runners. On February 18, 1978, 15 competitors, including Collins, came to the shores of Waikiki to compete in what was the first-ever IRONMAN challenge. 3.8 km Swim, 180km Bike and finishing with a full marathon of 42.2km.
Taupo is the home of Ironman NZ and now the Ironman 70.3 event and on the 10th of December 2016 Lake Taupo Hospice CEO Jeff Bennett will compete in the Ironman 70.3 leading in to competing in the full Ironman NZ event of the 4th of March 2017.
The GOAL to is complete both challenges to raise awareness of Lake Taupo HOSPICE and its services and importantly to raise money for patient’s services using the popularity of the event and using our CEO entrant as a fundraising focus.
Ironman is a one-year commitment, over the course of the entire year training is a 6 days per week commitment and as Jeff mentions most of it (particularly in the winter months) occurs in the dark either morning or evening and often both. Jeff says “The Ironman event is in many ways the victory lap, it really comes down to the training you put into it during the course of the year – an old saying is “The hardest thing is making it to the start line””. Having already completed the event in 2015, Jeff says “At some point through the Ironman day you know you are going to find and open a “Hurt Locker” , there are some dark moments out there and in many ways it is symbolic of the challenges many of our patients face in living well amidst the greatest of challenges” Bennett says “I hope that by doing this event it raises an awareness of the our Taupo service and importantly raises funds in order to assist in funding the services that are much needed.” The pressure of preparing for this event is significant and way different than doing it for yourself, I’m doing this for Hospice and getting up and out the door to train (even when you don’t want to) is fuelled by not wanting to let anyone down”
Jeff Bennett is living the Hospice Philosophy by taking on the challenge of IronMan 2017 raising funds and awareness for Lake Taupo Hospice.
"We really hope people will take the opportunity during IronMan to find out more about Lake Taupo Hospice and our services, to help if they can, and to spread the concept of living every moment throughout their community"
And, remember, you don't have to be dying from a life limiting condition to take the opportunity to review how your life is going, to ask yourself what living every moment means to you.... Take the opportunity to step back from the daily grind and think about who and what is important and what living every moment means in a personal sense"! concludes Mr Bennett.