Hartlepool fundraiser heads for the top of the Eiffel Tower in aid of children’s hospital

The Triple R challenge will see people rowing, riding and running for miles over almost two days continuously in a bid to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital for children this Christmas.

The event has been set up by project manager Aaron Myers, 33, who has spent Christmas away from home for the last seven years in a row because of work.

But despite that is feeling grateful and says he wanted to help those who are less fortunate.

The dad-of-two from Bishop Cuthbert explained: "I spend a lot of Christmas periods away from my family, which makes you feel a little bit sorry for yourself while everyone’s enjoying the Christmas festivities.

"But then I changed my mindset that I am actually quite fortunate with the way that my life is, whereas there’s other people who are less fortunate.”

There are seven teams taking part, with people travelling from as far as Lincoln and Chester to join the Triple R challenge.

Over 44 hours, the participants will simulate covering the distance from Hartlepool to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, with all activities taking place at Crossfit Evolve gym, in Burn Road.

Each team will be in pairs and between themselves the teammates will have to ride 380 miles on bikes to simulate reaching Dover.

They will row 31 miles to go over the Channel before cycling again and then running for 26 miles to the Eiffel Tower and simulate climbing the steps of the iconic landmark.

Aaron has said that sleep deprivation will be one of the biggest challenges to overcome and training is already underway.

He said: "It’s a horrendous amount of training. Yesterday we did 26.2 miles on the rowing machine over three hours and then we ran six miles afterwards.”

Aaron added: "I’ve already started looking at simulating an Arctic challenge next year, something a bit more Christmas-oriented.”

The Triple R challenge is taking place from December 2 until December 4.

To donate, visit Just Giving and searching for Triple R Challenge.

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