Radio 1 DJ Greg James kicked off his mighty ‘Gregathlon’ in Belfast yesterday, successfully finishing the first of 5 triathlons he has pledged to complete in aid of Sport Relief. The ‘Gregathlon’ challenge will see Greg James attempt to finish 5 triathlons in 5 consecutive days, each in a different UK city. This will involve swimming 1500m, cycling 40km and running 10km every day! He will then go live on air to take part in his usual afternoon radio show (just in case he wasn’t exhausted enough!)
During the opening event in Belfast Greg endured temperatures as low as 7 degrees whilst swimming in the chilly seas of Belfast harbour. These harsh conditions are sure to continue as he attempts his second triathlon in Cardiff today, which began this morning live on the Radio 1 Breakfast show. He will then travel to Glasgow and Sheffield before finishing up with the fifth and final event in Norwich this Friday. Each of these cities will later host the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games. These are open to the public and will take place from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th March.
The Cause
It’s all in aid of Sport relief, a fantastic cause aiming to improve the lives of those suffering both abroad and at home in the UK. In particular, Greg is raising money for those affected by the recent Syrian refugee crisis. He even travelled to Jordan in January this year to visit some of the families who had fled the on-going conflict. Greg has said that “they are constantly in my head really throughout this whole thing”, helping him to get through the unbelievable physical and mental challenge. This is not the first time the popular drive-time host has shown just how much the charity means to him. He has been involved in various fundraising for Sport Relief in recent years and in 2013 he rowed the Zambezi river in Africa to raise money for the cause.
Supporting Greg James
Greg has received a huge amount of support for his efforts, with even Coldplay star Chris Martin sending him a message of encouragement before his first event. Whilst Greg has said he doesn’t have a clue what to expect, we’re sure he has the support of the whole country behind him! We wish Greg James a massive good luck for the rest of the challenge (and for walking in the next few weeks afterwards!) To donate please see Greg’s Sport Relief page, or tweet your support to @gregjames.
Think you could handle something like this? Let us know in the comments below or tweet @CelebMix!