Andy Evans swam 2.4 miles, cycled 112 miles and then ran a full marathon in the prestigious Ironman Austria Kärnten on July 2. He completed the mega triathlon in 11 hours and 23 minutes, raising money for Dentaid along the way.
The event attracted 3,000 athletes and, after months of gruelling training, Andy was very pleased with his performance in the endurance race.
“Although I am a keen cyclist, before the Ironman training I didn’t run or swim, let alone combine all three in a challenge like this and I had no idea how it would go,” said Andy, who turned 40 the day before the big race. “Doing an Ironman Challenge has been a long-held ambition and I’m so pleased to have completed the event.”
All the money Andy has raised will go towards a new project Dentaid is running in the Philippines. This August, the charity will send a team of volunteers to Umapad elementary school in Mandaue City where they will provide dental care for 1,200 children. Many of the pupils at the school live, and often have to work, on the city’s enormous rubbish dump. The festering dumpsite is home to around 5,000 people who try to make a living scavenging for items they can sell. Sadly, dental health is not a priority with many families unable to afford toothbrushes and children suffering due to a lack of dental care.
The Dentaid team will screen all of the children’s teeth, apply fluoride varnish, set up a toothbrushing programme and work with local dentists to ensure all the children are dentally fit. Dentaid is fundraising to provide all the dental supplies and equipment the team will need to take with them.
“Dentaid supports so many amazing projects around the world and in the UK that it was hard to choose one to fundraise for,” said Andy, who joined Dentaid three years ago. “But, when I read about the children who live and work on the Umapad dumpsite, I decided that all the money from my Ironman Challenge would go towards helping them get the dental care they need. Not only can we help those in dental pain now, we can also help to protect their teeth in the future which can improve their self-esteem and long-term prospects. I feel privileged that Dentaid has the opportunity to help these children.”
To sponsor Andy’s Ironman Challenge please visit https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/andrewevans3