Starr Trust Founder Rob Starr Takes On A Year Long Triathlon Challenge To Raise Over £100,000 In Support Of Young People Who Are Facing Roadblocks In Their Lives

Rob Starr, Founder & Chairperson of the Starr Trust, has committed to completing an Olympic Triathlon every week during 2022 at age 52. That is 52 triathlons in 52 weeks.

Rob’s challenge is particularly tough as he is 52 years old, has Crohn’s disease, Arthritis and Osteoporosis, but is always determined to do his very best and will not stop until the challenge is completed. Rob completed his first Triathlon on 1st January 2022 and will undertake one every week thereafter throughout the year whilst being supported by Gold Olympian Robin Cousins and Double Gold Olympian Daley Thompson, both supporters of the Starr Trust.

The idea for the challenge came about because Nathan, one of the young ‘Starrs’ that the charity supports, needs to raise around £20,000 to enable him to reach the next Paralympics as a wheelchair tennis player. He is a remarkable young man who has Cerebral Palsy and who until 18 months ago, was a successful wheelchair racer who the Starr Trust was supporting. During a world championship race, Nathan suffered an accident that meant he could no longer race. So rather than give up he switched to wheelchair tennis and is now on the cusp of being chosen for the next Paralympics. The Starr Trust is awarding their maximum funding of £5,000, but this falls £15,000 short. Therefore, Rob has pledged to raise this for him. Like many charities, the Starr Trust has been unable to fundraise for the last 18 months and they have a large number of applications from young people in need. Rob’s aim is to raise enough money to support Nathan fully and to also support as many of the new applicants as possible.

A weekly blog will document Rob’s progress on this mammoth challenge in the hope to inspire businesses and individuals to get involved or support however they can.

Rob Starr said:

“I am equally excited and nervous to take on such a big challenge, but the young people our charity support need our help and as founder of the charity I feel it’s down to me to lead from the front. My biggest challenge will be keeping injury free and mentally strong enough to do this week after week for a full year, which is not always easy with my illness to contend with and life being as unpredictable as it currently is. But with the support I have around me, I have no doubt I will complete this and raise enough money to remove as many roadblocks as we can for young people. 2022 is shaping up to be a rather exhausting year!”

Nathan Freeman said:

“I can’t believe Rob is going to do this for me, it’s amazing, I don’t know how he does it. Rob and the Starr Trust have been supporting me for years and they just make me feel I can achieve anything. They are such a big part of my family and are literally making this dream possible for me.”

Read more about Nathan’s journey with the Starr Trust here.

Rob has completed a number of extreme challenges for the Trust over the years, from swimming the English Channel to cycling up Le Mont Ventoux, to completing a full Ironman. But this challenge may prove to be the toughest yet, as it lasts a whole year. The Olympic Triathlon is a continuous event that is a 1500 metre swim, followed by a 40 kilometre bike ride, then a 10 kilometre run. Each one takes Rob between 3-4 hours to complete, which means he will be spending around 200 hours to complete the event and he will swim 78 kilometres, will cycle 2080 kilometres and will run 520 kilometres.

The Starr Trust, which is now in its 15th year, raises funds to help young people be the best that they can be and to help remove any roadblocks that they face in life. 100% of all funds raised will be given out to young people, because the charity has all its running costs covered by Rob’s mortgage & insurance company, SEICO Group and therefore uses no sponsorship money for running costs.