Senior Planner, Gillian Cooper, is training for the Copenhagen Ironman which takes place in August. She is raising money for Make Space for Girls, an amazing charity who are campaigning for parks and public spaces to be designed for the needs of teenage girls. In this blog, she shares her progress.
It’s 5:00 am and I’m resisting the urge to snooze my alarm for the second time this morning. It’s a Tuesday morning, a cool 0 degrees, a day in the office for me, but first – time for a cycle, run or swim.
I have always loved a challenge and after a 10-year rowing career, I was ready for an individual challenge something I felt might be on the edge of achievable for me, this led me to the 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and marathon that is the Ironman. Discussing this with my team at Newsteer in September 2022 helped me to cement the challenge; sponsored by Newsteer I will take on the Copenhagen Ironman on the 20th August 2023, in doing so I will use the challenge to support and promote a built environment charity.
Choosing a charity was the easy part! I grew up playing outdoors and being active, I am passionate about providing similar opportunities for girls across the country. Luckily for me, Suzannah Walker the founder of Make Space for Girls shares this passion using it to fuel her campaign for the provision of public spaces and facilities for teenage girls. Recognising both the importance of promoting physical activity and outdoor spaces for girls with staggering facts like “most councils have spent more on facilities for dog waste than those for teenage girls” the case for Make Space for Girls was clear.
Now in June 2023, my training is well underway. I’ve battled through the long winter rides on my turbo trainer in the dining room when it was too wet and cold to ride outside, cold and snowy runs through the countryside and countless lengths of the indoor pool. Now the clocks have changed, I’m ready for the renewed inspiration of the great outdoors – seeking out new spots to explore on my bike as I begin to take on some of my longest rides and prepare for my first triathlon and warm up event, the Challenge Wales Half Ironman, in 6 weeks’ time!
Follow along to see my progress on Instagram at @gilli_can_ironman and help me reach my donation target at https://www.givey.com/gillicanironman
Find out more about Make Space for Girls
