An Introduction... Who Am I? What is The Outlaw?

Who am I?
Well, I'm a nobody really, I'm just a guy who turned 30 and thought he needed to do something to keep fit. I've done a fair amount of sport over the years but I'd never call myself an athlete. I started at the beginning, I started running. Last spring a 3km jog seemed like a big effort, to increase my motivation I did a local 10km at Wollaton Hall, Nottingham. The Marrowthon for Anthony Nolan, I completed it in a reasonable 43minutes. When I finished, I just kept running. Next target... the Great North Run, September 2011, I finished in an ok 1:40:43. During my summer training the monotony got to me and someone suggested triathlon, I bought a bike as an occasional training substitute, with the longer term goal of trying triathlon. After the Great North Run, I joined local triathlon club, Absolute. Without doubt one of the best things I've done in a long while. That was 3 months ago, and now... I'm signed up for The Outlaw!  

So, what is The Outlaw?
The Outlaw is an Ironman distance triathlon, it involves a swim of 2.5miles, a cycle of 112miles and finishes with a full marathon (26miles). All in all a gruelling 140miles in a day. The swim is open water and takes place at Holme Pierrepont, whilst the cycle and run take in the surrounding Nottinghamshire countryside. It takes place on July 1st 2012, exactly 6 months from today.

And finally for now, the big question why?
Why The Outlaw? Well I guess it just stems from the feeling of needing to do something I can look back on, and to push myself to see how far I can go. I've been inspired by a lot of people since joining Absolute Tri Club, who make it seem very achievable. At the moment I'm somewhere between fear and excitement and the road ahead seems like a long one, but I'm sure it will be worthwhile. Not to mention the chance to raise money for some great charities which I'll come to in a later post.
Why the blog? The fear and the demands of this challenge are pretty daunting, any support I can gain will defo help me along the way, it's also a great tool to help with fundraising which you'll no doubt get sick of if you choose to follow me on this amazing journey.

For now, @matto_w out x