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Surrey Sports Park member takes on 2012 Challenge

21 April 2012

Steve Tyler, from the University of Surrey Alumni office, continues his year of athletic challenges this weekend as his takes on the Virgin London Marathon.

Steve’s series of challenges, titled ‘Steve vs 2012’, will see him attempt a number of running, cycling and swimming challenges with various 2012-related goals. He will include training in his final total, but will be attempting a number of competitive and large scale events across the 12 months, including cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, swimming 3km in the sea off the Dorset coast (as well as similar distances in the Thames over the summer); cycling from London to Amsterdam, running the Amsterdam Marathon and then cycling back, and of course tackling this Sunday’s Virgin London Marathon.

But of course his efforts are not just for personal gratification- Steve is raising money for the charity Partnership for Children, which works to promote good mental health and emotional wellbeing in children.

When we asked Steve why he decided to take on this mammoth challenge he said: “I got a ballot entry into the Marathon last year and thought I would use it as a fundraising exercise. However, so many other people had the same idea that I thought I'd better raise the bar!

I quite like a challenge, so I thought I would use the Olympic year to go for a 2012-themed challenge! The London Marathon is just the start!”

Ahead of Sunday’s event Steve is axious about his first competitive marathon run: “I've never run more than a half marathon competitively, so this is completely unknown territory. I've been a regular at Surrey Sports Park over the winter and the excellent gym and pool have really helped keep me in shape. I've had a few injuries recently - including nearly being knocked over by a car - but I'm feeling fairly confident. I'm not sure how well I'll do time-wise, but the experience of running this race in an Olympic year is motivation enough for me!”

Surrey Sports Park will be closely following Steve across the year as he takes on numerous challenges to reach his 2012 targets. You can also follow his regular blogs and updates on his Steve vs 2012 website and via Twitter.

We all wish him, and everyone else taking on the Marathon on Sunday the best of luck!