On Sunday the 31st July Alistair Palmer took part in the Ironman UK Triathlon in memory of his older brother Gregory.

“Gregory died suddenly aged 21 in 2003 during his final year at Aston University. It will never be possible to know exactly why he died as the tests, two post-mortems and genetic testing could not give an answer. His younger brother and sister were tested to check that they did not show any detectable susceptibility.

Alistair, his brother, was already playing hockey regularly and more recently has taken to running and cycling endurance events. On July 31st this year (2011) he took on his greatest challenge yet by taking part in the Ironman UK triathlon challenge in Bolton.

This involves swimming for 2.4 miles in open water, cycling on an undulating course for a distance of 112 miles and finally running 26.2 miles which is a marathon. There were over 1200 men and women who took part this year.

He completed the challenge in 10 hours and six minutes and was 57th overall. His most notable achievement was that he ran the marathon in 2 hours and 49 minutes which was his best time yet even after all the swimming and cycling.

He was sponsored by his family, friends and work colleagues for the event and raised over £1100.”

Bob Palmer