How Hartlepool athletes did their bit to support families affected by Alzheimer’s

Scores of well-wishers went along to High Tunstall College Of Science’s Life Centre in Hartlepool to cheer on the sportsmen and women.

Cheryl Laycock is planning to do the Outlaw Triathlon in Nottingham later in the year in memory of her dad.

It will involve a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run.

However, several teams went along to join her in a pre-Outlaw challenge at the weekend which involved a 1.5 hour swim, a continuous cycle for 7.5 hours and a four-hour run.

There were also cake stalls, refreshment stands and challenges and games for children, all to boost funds.

Cheryl turned to exercise to ease the pain and upset of having to watch her dad John Laycock’s health deteriorate quickly from the illness and he died aged 73.

Now she plans to raise as much money as she can to help find a cure for the disease.

The pre-Outlaw event at High Tunstall proved a huge hit and Cheryl was delighted by the amount of people who joined in the challenges and also those who went along to give support.

She said: “I couldn’t believe how many people were there for the swim at 6am, the pool was buzzing, which was really nice.

“I think a lot of the people who took part have lost someone to Alzheimer’s.”

There were nine teams, each made up of six people, took part in the gruelling challenges.

Among them were teams from Burn Road Harriers, CrossFit Telic, the Twilight Triathlon Team and the school’s Life Centre.

Although, it will take a while to collect in all the sponsorship, Cheryl is hopeful they have raised a large amount for the charity.

To make a donation vsit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chezmenez.