A Solihull financier is set for ‘Olympic success’ after pledging to complete 20 triathlons in 50 days, as a tribute to his late mum.
Spencer Costley is on target to complete the mammoth seven-week sporting challenge this week, ahead of his 50th birthday – he is the same age as his mum Janice when she died 22 years earlier.
Since July 6th Spencer has covered a total of 1,032km running, swimming and cycling, and the Head of Financial Control at Paragon Bank in Solihull, has already smashed through his target total of £1,000 for Warwickshire charities Molly Ollys and Myton Hospice.
He said: “My mum lost her three-year battle with leukaemia on Valentine’s Day in 2002 aged 49. This year I’m 49 so wanted to do a big charity challenge in her memory. On the 22nd September I will be exactly the same age as my mum when she died. The 50-day challenge is important to me too. It’s symbolic as she never made 50.
“This has been a significant challenge but I have spent a lot of time remembering how funny, loving and generally brilliant my mum was. Myton and Molly Ollys both support terminally ill patients and mum would certainly approve of the great work they do. Molly Ollys is this year’s nominated charity for my company, Paragon Bank.”
It’s the precious memories that have powered Spencer through while running every day, cycling most days and swimming three times a week. But he often reflects on those subsequent lost years without, not just a mum, but a grandmother to his three children.
“It was tough going to hospital with my wife Faith being pregnant and then having a newborn. We saw my mum a lot in the last few months so she got to see my daughter Shannon as much as possible but the last six weeks of her life flew by and she deteriorated very quickly after her last Christmas. It’s so sad that she has never met my son Zac or daughter Poppie. My brother also has three children all born after my mum died,” he added.
“I guess the focus on Shannon and a young family got me through the tough times and since her death our family mantra is to live life to the full because you don’t know how long you’ve got.
Molly Ollys was established in 2011 by Rachel and husband Tim following the death of their eight-year-old daughter Molly from a rare kidney cancer.
The charity works to support children with terminal or life-limiting illnesses and their families and help with their emotional wellbeing. As well as providing wishes, they donate therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.
The therapeutic toy lion called Olly The Brave who has his own Hickman line and a detachable mane which helps to explain and normalise the effects of chemotherapy. These form part of an Olly The Brave pack that has now been handed out to more than 70 hospitals or health centres, along with a set of books from the charity’s exclusive Olly The Brave series.
Myton has three hospices in Coventry, Warwick and Rugby – as well as Hospice Inpatient beds in Coventry and Warwickshire – which care for people living with a wide range of life-limiting illnesses including Respiratory, Heart & Neurological conditions, Cancer and Organ failure.
Spencer, who lives in Coventry, added: “Mum would be super proud, although she would have laughed and called me crazy for doing this, but she loved life and doing crazy stuff makes life more fun. My most precious memories of her are her laughter, always being silly but also very kind and loving. She always looked for the fun in life.”