Member Article

Dentist Takes On Gruelling Charity Triathlon

Dr Simon Betts of the Brighouse Fresh Smile Clinic will take on one of the world’s toughest physical tests this month as he bids to raise funds for one of Huddersfield’s most valued charities, Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.

This year’s epic IRONMAN Triathlon will take place in Denmark’s historic capital Copenhagen and Dr Betts will sweat blood and tears whilst he navigates his way through the picturesque town with fellow athletes in front of 150,000 cheering fans.

The 12 hour long course, which involves a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and an unforgiving 26 mile marathon, will all be worth it for Simon, though, who is determined to help raise awareness and much-needed funds for a charity close to his heart.

The Associate Dentist of the Fresh Smile Clinic, said: “Fresh Smile Clinic, my brother Tom and I are extremely proud to be raising money for Forget Me Not. It’s a local charity which means a lot to all of us. They do amazing work and its crucial children’s hospices like this are funded to keep supporting families in need during extremely difficult times.

“Training for an Ironman almost takes over your life. Every spare hour you have seems to be gobbled up with training. For the last year I’ve been training around 10-12 hours a week trying to fit this around work.

“I feel I am ready to go and just want to get to race day. Our goal was always to just complete an Ironman, and there is a 15 hour cut off time. If we finish in 14 hours 59 minutes and raise money for Forget Me Not, we will be the happiest men alive!”

Since signing up to the Ironman a year ago, Dr Betts has completed a number of triathlons, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and is determined to do the charity and his colleagues proud.

Speaking about Simon’s mission, Fresh Smile Clinic’s Principal Dentist, Dr. Kirrin Punia, said: “We’re very proud to be supporting a charity that means a lot to all of us here in Huddersfield and we know Simon will do it justice.

“He’s a super-fit and driven person who is a vital part of everything we do here at the clinic. We urge the public to get behind Simon and his brother so they can raise some much-needed funds for Forget Me Not.”

Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice supports 150 children and their families, across Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, through its hospice at home service and state of the art hospice, Russell House, located in Huddersfield.

Although the hospice is one of the top 2% of Health & Social Care providers in the UK, they rely heavily on the support of local communities and businesses to help them raise the £3.8million they need this year to care for the children and families who need them.

The charity is delighted by the Fresh Smile Clinic’s involvement and has urged the community to get behind Dr Betts’ triathlon.

Senior Community Fundraiser, Lucy Burnett, said: “An Iron Man Triathlon is no easy undertaking and everyone at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice will be getting behind Dr. Betts’ challenge and we are confident that the community will do the same.

“He is incredibly brave taking on one of the world’s toughest physical contests, and through this he will be helping out families who take on their own extraordinary challenges every day

“Money raised by our supporters is spent on the care of our children and families. It costs £10,410 a day to keep the hospice services running and this covers everything from the upkeep of our hydrotherapy pool, through to the everyday things like keeping the lights on and paying the electricity bill.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jane Crosby .