Nerves of steel saw estate agent Mark Ayres through to the finish line of the Ironman South Africa race.
Mark, who is a director of Buckingham and Winslow agents Ella, completed the gruelling 2.4mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2mile marathon, in 15 hours 10 minutes to raise almost £23,000 for Alec’s Angels.
The 41-year-old, from Padbury, took on the challenge to raise funds for the Winslow charity after deciding to support a local cause. A £100 donation from every exchange of contracts made by Ella has raised £12,540 with a further £10,297 from corporate and personal sponsorship.
He said: “I did 17 hours of training a week and it really paid off. It was 29C so it was very hot. The full marathon on my 75-year-old’s knees was very hard. I knew I had the mental strength to finish but I did not know if my body could do it. “
Mark was treated for exhaustion by medics at the end of the event, which 600 of the 2,400 entrants did not complete. Mark also took on a 170-mile bike ride from Morecambe to Bridlington last year.
Brian Jarvis, who founded Alec’s Angels after the loss of his son Alec, said the donation would help the charity to make it easier for families to escape cancer, even for just a few hours.
He added: “This money enables me to go to the hospital and to the hospice and give a family whatever they need to make their life a little bit easier. There are some amazing people in this world and Mark is an example of one of those amazing people.”