Thatcham Ironman takes on charity challenge for Daisy’s Dream in memory of late wife
Thatcham’s Ironman may not have reached his ‘five triathlon’ goal but he raised more than £5k and left the town inspired.
Ed Smith has been raising money and awareness for a bereavement charity – Daisy’s Dream – who helped him and his six-year-old daughter Alba when he lost his wife Anna to cancer in 2018.
Mr Smith hoped to complete five consecutive days of pushing his body to its limits in a 5 Ironman challenge.
And that he did. Ed – who had never completed one ironman triathlon prior to this challenge completed three full rounds and made some impressive times on his first day.
In the first Ironman, he swam 2.4 miles in one hour and five minutes, cycled 112 miles in six hours and 43 minutes and ran a marathon of 26.2 miles in four hours and 22 minutes.
After more than 12 and half hours of non-stop athleticism, the father-of-one continued into day two and day three with consistently impressive completion times.
On day two, last Thursday (June 8), the UK Health Security Agency and Met Office issued their first heat-health alert of the year as temperatures were predicted to peak around 30°C over the weekend.
Mr Smith kept going but day five had to be cancelled due to the continually rising temperatures.
On Saturday, June 10, Mr Smith’s Instagram page – @ed_bowelcancerawareness where updates were being posted – announced that he had become overwhelmed with heat.
Mr Smith was taken to hospital as a precaution and was treated for exhaustion.
It took a while to get his body temperature down but as soon as it reduced, he was reported to be feeling fine albeit very tired.
Mr Smith was taken home but the next day he was back to the hospital as his temperature spiked over 38°C while resting at home.
Taking to his Instagram page, Mr Smith said: “Obviously the Ironman didn’t finish in the way I wanted with a trip to A&E on Saturday after suffering with heat exhaustion and then another trip back to hospital on Sunday afternoon after my temperature spiked over 38 degrees whilst at home.
“It was a reminder that you can’t beat Mother Nature and that sometimes these things are out of your control.
“I did everything that I could in terms of preparation and felt in really good shape until halfway around the run on Ironman four.”
He added: “But I did get around 3 Ironman. Up until Wednesday I had only ever completed one triathlon so I guess that isn’t to be snuffed at.
“I am grateful for the experience I had in raising money and awareness for the charity Daisy’s Dream and sharing some amazing moments with lots of old and new friends.
“Thank you to everyone for your love and support.”
He thanked Velo Clinic coach Callum Hughes, Aldermaston Tea Rooms for hosting him and Physiotherapy business Harris Mind and Body.
His Just Giving page can be found at https://rb.gy/nv6of
This isn’t the first time Mr Smith pushed his body to its limits for charity.
In December of 2021 he rowed from the Canary Islands to Antigua in aid of cancer charity Victoria’s Promise.
He and three friends spent more than a month at sea facing rough seas, blisters and flying fish.
And he is doing it all for late-wife Anna, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer which had spread to her liver and lungs in 2017.
After three rounds of chemotherapy, and some radiotherapy, Anna lost her battle with cancer in June 2018, aged 38.
She too, challenged herself in a charity run for Daisy’s Dream 10 years ago, in memory of her mother – who she lost to breast cancer. Anna wanted to support a charity that she wished she had when she was young and grieving her mother’s loss.
