255 Triathlon: Dare to Dream!
Two years ago Claire Danson could only dare to dream but, over the weekend, Claire, a GB age-group para-athlete completed the 255 triathlon, the longest single-day endurance triathlon in the world.
Claire is a spinal cord victim, paralysed from the chest down due to a road cycle accident in 2019, who found the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles to make that dream of yesterday become the reality of today.
To those who thought it could not be done, that is reflection of their limitations, not Claire’s, for her, it was time to dare, to endure, and take on the challenge of racing once again to raise funds for Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation, because they give hope to those with spinal cord injury.
On Sunday 8th August at 6.00 am in the morning Claire Danson racing under the banner of the Precision Race Team set about completing the longest endurance triathlon in world, a humongous distance of 255 kilometres around the historic Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit.
Claire’s race consisted of a 5km swim (4 laps) in nearby Westhampnett Lake, then onto the bike leg for a 200km ride (52 laps) around the iconic racing circuit, before setting off on the final leg, of 10 laps adding up to 50km around the circuit’s perimeter.
14 hours 30 minutes later at 8.30 pm that evening Claire finished her incredible feat. Her determination and strength (all the while smiling) was truly inspirational even more so when she had finished more than 3 hours within the cut off time of 18 hours for able-bodied triathletes.
Tears were plentiful, as spectators and fans looked on in awe and admiration for her achievement. Claire was joined by her family, coach (Will Usher, Team Precision Coaching), physio’s (Fiona Talbot and Louis Martinelli), surgeon (Mr Ali Phillips) and many more supporters of #TeamClaire.
Pre-accident Claire was a successful Team GB Age-grouper having won her age group at the 2019 European Championships and Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire, she had hoped to move up to the Ironman distance of 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run.
Her sister Alex Danson-Bennett is an Olympian who won Olympic gold in Rio and bronze in 2012 as part of the Great Britain hockey team.
Claire has firmly set her sights on following her sister achievements saying: “Adding a Paralympic one would be very cool wouldn’t it? That’s what every athlete aspires to. The ultimate goal is Paris 2024.”
Ultimate Single-Day ‘255 TRIATHLON’ Challenge
Pre-race Claire told race organisers, TriBourne Multisport Events : “Since the accident I have been determined to carry on doing what I was doing before; I didn’t want my accident to get the better of me. When I heard about the 255 Triathlon it felt like the perfect opportunity to really challenge myself. As a triathlete for Team GB, before my accident, I probably wouldn’t have considered taking on such an ambitious endurance challenge, but the possibility of taking part in this race is just one of the many amazing opportunities which have arisen for me over the past two years.”
The Wings for Life video below is a gentle reminder that this could happen to ‘Any one of Us’.
Claire gives us her inspiring story on why she undertook this Herculean feat on her fundraising page:
Here is Claire’s Story
Hey everyone,
Thank you so much for visiting this page. On the 28th August 2019 I was out riding my bike when I was hit by a tractor sustaining severe injuries including a complete sever to my spinal cord leaving me paralysed from the chest down.
The first thing that I wrote on the letter board that I was given in intensive care was ‘sorry’. More amazingly the second word was ‘para-athlete’. From the moment I knew I was paralysed I knew this was what I wanted. Now, less than 2 years after my accident I am so happy to say that I am back doing the sport that I love. I now use a hand bike for the bike segment and a race chair for the run.
I will be taking part in the 255 triathlon on the 8th August. This is a 5km swim, 200km bike and 50km run. I am doing this to show that there is so much that is still possible after a spinal cord injury. I also want to raise awareness of spinal cord injury and of the amazing charity; Wings for Life, for whom I am an ambassador.
Wings for Life is a not-for-profit spinal cord research foundation. Their mission is to find a cure for spinal cord injury. They fund world-class scientific research and clinical trials around the globe aimed at healing the injured spinal cord. They and I truly believe that they will find a cure in my lifetime. Please help them by donating money to them. The best part is 100% of any donation that you give goes directly to fund this vital research.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this. Please donate anything that you can. It really could make such a difference to so many people’s lives
Let’s do this team
Claire xxx
Worth giving to don’t you think?
Claire is the epitome of hope in that no matter how difficult life may seem there is always something you can do and succeed at.
Below is a video made in 2020 at the beginning of Claire’s road to recovery with the goal of doing a triathlon. Well she certainly did that!
Donations can made on Claire’s JustGiving fundraising page here:
Wings for Life is dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injury and funds world class scientific research & clinical trials aimed at accelerating progress towards this. 100% of your donation goes directly to research as the charity’s founders cover all administrative costs.
