Three vets from Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists took part in the Weymouth Iron Man 70.3 triathlon relay and raised £630 for the Vetlife charity, exceeding their original target of £500.
Despite the terrible weather they stayed committed to their goal and powered through, with Barney Dean running 21.1km, Phil Witte completing a 1.9km open water swim, and Tim Trevail cycling 90km. Tim said: “The foul weather did nothing to whet our appetite for the challenge!”.
They raised the money for Vetlife, a registered charity who confidentially support vets through tough and challenging times. The charity offers a 24/7 phone and email helpline; professional mental health support; financial assistance; information and resources. With wellbeing becoming an increasingly important topic in the veterinary industry this was a charity close to their hearts.
A Vet Life Fundraiser said: “Vetlife is an invaluable service which relies on public donations to run. Their work is increasingly important and the demand for their services is ever growing.”
Barney Dean was excited to take part in the triathlon, he said: “I was really excited to be taking part in the Iron Man 70.3 relay with Phil and Tim. They both trained really hard and I went for regular runs along the promenade at Bournemouth beach, and began increasing my mileage.
“I have always enjoyed taking part in sporting (particularly running) challenges and try to raise money for worthy causes whenever I do so. I completed the Isle of Wight Challenge (a 106km ultramarathon around the Isle of Wight) when I was an intern at SCVS in 2015. I have also completed a cycle tour across Europe in 2015, the Jungfrau mountain marathon in Switzerland in 2016, and numerous other regular marathons. I really fancied a new challenge but couldn’t face the idea of completing an Iron Man triathlon all by myself. Phil and Tim both regularly take part in swimming and cycling challenges, respectively, and so I thought the three of us would make a great team for the Iron Man 70.3 relay.”
Vetlife gave the clinicians a special thank you over Twitter: “A huge thank you to the superstar Vetlife fundraisers from @SCVS_Referrals! Thank you so much for your support.”
Barney, Phil and Tim are all extremely grateful for everyone’s support and appreciated the kind, supportive comments on social media from their wonderful customers.
