A Lindum site manager has completed a cold-water swim, a cycle ride around roadworks, and a run in heavy rain to secure a 24/7 accessible defibrillator for Bottisham, Cambridgeshire.
Justin Moore, 51, who manages our site off Bell Road, where we are building 50 affordable homes for Accent Homemade, finished the triathlon in just over three-and-a-half hours on September 21.
He began training in February after the parish council told him the village does not currently have a defibrillator which is accessible by the public round the clock.
Thanks to Justin’s fundraising heroics, the life-saving device will be installed in a wall-mounted cabinet outside the village High Street pharmacy in the coming weeks.
Dad-of-three Justin, from March, who is married to Zoe, had to overcome a string of unforeseen obstacles to complete the challenge.
He said: “I got to the start line early on a cold damp morning, put my wetsuit on, didn’t hesitate and dived straight into the Twenty Foot River, in March.
“That’s when things started to go wrong. Straight away, my wetsuit filled with ice cold water like a balloon, which was not supposed to happen, but due to my recent weight loss from my training it wasn’t quite as tight as it should have been.
“This left me with no choice but to go down a level from a 2km swim to 1km and complete it in my swimming shorts only. Boy, was it cold!
“The water was 11 degrees C and when I’d finished my hands and feet were translucent white.
“My wife could see how cold it was and had the heaters in the car full blast to aid my transition from swim to bike.”
Justin then discovered the route of his 40km ride from March to Wimblington was closed for road resurfacing between Wisbech and Chatteris.
He said: “The only other 40km option was a 50% road and 50% off road course, so a quick change from my road bike to my mountain bike and I was away.
“This was a series of loops up to Coldham back through March inclusive of the bike route through Whitemoor Nature Reserve, which brought me back to Wimblington.”
Once in Wimblington, Justin changed into his running clothes, drank a Coke and set off on what was supposed to be a simple 5km run around the village.
He said: “As I set off the sun was shining and apart from tied quads in my legs, it was the first time I knew I was going to get this done.
“It was then I heard thunder, and within about five minutes it rained – so hard I think I was drier in the swimming section. Within 30 seconds of the rain starting I was wet through, but as a I was warm running, I just embraced the fact I knew I would finish this crazy idea.
“I finished a 31 minute swim, a two hour and 26 minute bike ride a 38 minute run. Not fast I know, but it was good to get it completed.”
According to St John Ambulance, the early use of a defibrillator to treat someone in cardiac arrest before an ambulance arrives can significantly increase their chances of survival.
