In 2014 my then 3 year old daughter, Sofia, was diagnosed with leukaemia; a devastating blow to me and my family. After a difficult two year battle Sofia successfully completed her treatment, winning her fight against the disease. Thankfully our story ended happily, but the journey was difficult nonetheless. To watch your child have to endure such a cruel illness and relentless treatment regime was devastating. At times I would find myself questioning whether I had, in any way, contributed to her plight. The experience, though hugely traumatic, has subsequently had an extremely positive effect on my life, in many ways changing my whole outlook. I was determined that something good would come out of this difficult life journey.

I knew I had to do something to change the direction of where my life was going, so at 30 years of age and weighing in at a hefty 105kg, I found myself signing up for the first sporting challenge - 2014 London to Paris charity cycle. It gave me the drive to get into shape and a way to acknowledge and thank all of the staff at The Royal Marsden Hospital for caring for my sick daughter and returning her to me, as a healthy, beautiful and vibrant little girl.

I loved the experience, the feeling it gave me - combination of pride, pain, satisfaction and more pain. I knew then it was just the start - now my focus was to become a healthier version of myself, for me and my family which led me to sign up for my first Ironman.

Sofia’s battle got me through the 8 month gruelling training plan, I knew it was nothing compared to what she had endured. During my initial swim training session, I barely managed 100 metres- fitness was somewhat lacking!

Six years later I logged 480km swimming, 50,000km cycling and 6,000km running and have 7 Ironman medals. Exercise has become an integral part of my family life, I’m so proud to see Sofia is following in my footsteps and now competes in Triathlons too. My family and I feel so lucky to be able to cheer Sofia on and know that other families haven’t been so lucky. I want to help make sure more families have the positive outcome mine has, so I set myself the target of raising £20,000 for Cancer Research UK’s lifesaving work.