A FATHER’S mission to lose weight led to him completing one of the toughest sporting one-day events on the planet.

Andy Griffiths, from Welshpool, raised more than £3,500 for charity last weekend when he completed the Ironman Wales – including a 2.4 mile sea swim, 112-mile bike leg followed by a marathon run (26.2 miles), all in one day.

Andy’s Ironman issue started two years ago when his mission to lose weight led him to entering one of the hardest single day events in the world.

He said: “It was a pipe dream two years ago when I was 16 and a half stone when I got into mountainbiking before road biking and joined Hafren Cycling Club.

“I didn’t do a crash diet or anything like that, if anything I have eaten more over the last six months and I’m now 13 stone.”

“Over 12 months ago I got the chance of doing the Ironman so in May last year I started training. In March I set myself a 17 hour target so to actually do it in 13 hours is absolutely gobsmacking.

“I have been training between 14 and 16 hours a week which has included me staying over in Tenby to test the bike and run the course and going over to Ellesmere to practice the open water swim.

“I have been getting up in the morning to do a two to three hour run before work and then have done longer training. I have just been dedicated and have put everything into it over the last nine months and it has been a huge part of my life.

Ironman Wales has a 17 hour cut-off time which Andy said was his target but last weekend he smashed this finishing the gruelling event in 12 hours 56 minutes.

Andy added: “I have also had a lot of help and support with people coming training with me and have had a lot of people behind me in the most difficult thing I have ever done. The bike course was hard going consisting of 112 miles with between 7,000 and 8,500 feet of climbing which was tough.

“The swim was also tough as there was a huge swell of three to four feet which caused a lot of people trouble in the water and I saw some having to be pulled out of the sea. The run consisted of a lot of laps and by that time crowds had gathered which got me through so it didn’t seem like 26 miles because of the support.”

“My children also came to support me after taking part in Ironkids on the Saturday and got to finish their run on the red carpet also. It left me with no option but to finish.

“I have raised about £3,500 although I still don’t know the final amount which might be closer to £4,000 for Severn Hospice as I wanted to raise funds for a local charity as I’ve never done any fundraising before.”