Ealing's Own Ironman

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Help him raise funds for the Stroke Association

Ricky Davis is a 23 year old chiropractor working in Ealing and Chiswick.. He's currently training for his first Ironman triathlon in Bolton which takes place on the 4th of August 2013. The event involves swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and finally ending with a full marathon.

He's doing it to raise money for The Stroke Association as he explains below:

You may be wondering, as most people do, why I signed up for an ultra distance triathlon. It is mostly to do with the challenge, after watching a friend last year cross the finish line after all the hard work, I asked myself could I do that? And after 7 months of preparation I admit I do secretly love it. I love pushing myself, I love the feeling after a long ride,swim or run and most of all love my appetite. I don't stop eating and I'm still losing weight so I would thoroughly recommend the sport and there are plenty of triathlon clubs around the area to get involved with.

Throughout my training so far I've learnt that you really can achieve amazing things when you put your mind to it and work hard. Which leads me on to talking about my grandad, who last august suffered a stroke, losing his use of speech and movement in the right side of his body. He and my family have overcome some huge challenges too and I owe a big thank you to the stroke association for helping my family through these. The stroke association produce and distribute a huge amount of information on stroke and are playing an important role in raising awareness.

Their free information was priceless when faced with the uncertainty of coping with such a life changing event, especially for my grandmother, and the progress he has shown has inspired me to help the charity how I can so that they can carry on helping other stroke sufferers and their families.

I am therefore raising money for the stroke association with my end goal to complete the ironman in August, with this being my way of saying thank you to them for their great work and for helping those close to me.

Knowledge of nutrition and rest between training is extremely important in preventing overtraining issues, but focussing on these aspects and even being a chiropractor does not make you immune to the odd injury. Having the knowledge and people around you who know what to do when niggles arise is invaluable, and now I really do practice what I preach more than ever. I see overuse injuries every day in practice and I now use my experience and know-how to help others just as it has helped me.

Therefore I am opening a free injury and training advice service on the first Tuesday morning of every month in royal mid Surrey golf course where you can book in for a talk and examination, with the option to donate whatever you can afford to my charity. I do hope it grows to be popular and I hope I get to meet as many of you as possible as we work towards helping a great charity.

You can get in touch by calling call directly on 07725 860283

I have also created a just giving page which you can find at www.justgiving.com/RickyCDavis and I am aiming to reach £1000

Thank you for reading my story. Whether you are a family member, friend, patient or just a kind supporter of The Stroke Association, your support would be greatly appreciated.

I'll see you at the finish line!

 

Ricky Davis

 

May 1st 2013