Ironman World Championships & Miscarriage Charity

My name is Chris Ashton and in June this year, I qualified for the 2022 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. I have set up a GoFundMe page to support me and raise funds for two miscarriage charities, namely Tommys and The Worst Girl Gang Ever (Twgge).

Follow my journey on Instagram: Chris Ashton: triashton_

An Ironman is a 3.8km swim, followed by a 180km cycle followed by a marathon (42.2km run). The event, which is the pinnacle of this endurance sport, takes place on 8 October 2022.

My Journey

In 2018 I was persuaded by my best mate to enter a local sprint distance triathlon. Fast forward four years and I finished third at the Ironman European Championships in Hamburg, resulting in qualification for the World Ironman Championships.

For those of you that knew me growing up, I was previously a national level swimmer so pretty used to an intense training schedule, but training for an Ironman is another level; both in terms of time and kit required. Day-to-day, I am the Director of Sport at a school in south London so must fit my training around the pre- and post-school commitments, the school day and Saturday fixtures.

I am uncoached and unsponsored and receive no financial assistance. To have a realistic opportunity and to do myself justice I need at least a week in Hawaii to acclimatise and prepare for the event.

Whilst my wife Charlotte and I are saving as much money for the event as we can, the costs are beyond our budget given there are only five months between qualification and the World Championships.

Raising money for baby loss charity

Far more importantly than any sporting event or personal achievement are the charities we are hoping to support. During the past year Charlotte and I have suffered three miscarriages. Anyone who has been through this will understand the heartbreak and despair it causes. To happen three times is almost too much to bear.

As is often the case some small good comes out of tragedy. For us the support resources provided by Tommy’s charity and TWGGE have been invaluable. Their role is to support couples like us through pregnancy loss and raise awareness of just how common miscarriage is. We intend to raise money over and above our costs to donate to both charities.

Plea for help

I feel uncomfortable asking for help but as an amateur athlete without sponsorship, my financial options are limited and if I can do some good by supporting a charity that is close to our hearts, I feel my request for financial support is more warranted.

Furthermore, I hope to inspire the students that I teach and show them that hard work, sacrifice and dedication can help them to reach their sporting dreams. I greatly appreciate any help you can give me in enabling me to do so.

Outlined below are the costs for participating in the Ironman World Championships. Our hope is to raise funds to get me to the start line at Kona and support these important charities in the process; TOMMY’s and TWGGE.

Thank you for reading my story and supporting Charlotte, myself and the many other families going through pregnancy loss.