Firefighting trio gear up to tackle IRONMAN contest

A trio of superfit Lancashire fire fighters are out to prove they are made of iron.
Iron man trio pictured centre (left to right) Chris (Jack) Horner, Sammie Stuart and Kev Horner with crew colleagues from Garstang Fire StationIron man trio pictured centre (left to right) Chris (Jack) Horner, Sammie Stuart and Kev Horner with crew colleagues from Garstang Fire Station
Iron man trio pictured centre (left to right) Chris (Jack) Horner, Sammie Stuart and Kev Horner with crew colleagues from Garstang Fire Station

The three retained staff from Garstang Fire Station have all decided to enter the Bolton IRONMAN UK contest - following the example of Garstang Fire Station’s Unit Watch Manager Chris Horner.

For Chris - also known as Jack - this will be his third Iron Man contest.

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Now a GB veteran athlete, the 42 year old from Scorton has been sharing his top training tips with brother Kev who is entering the contest for the first time.

Last year, encouraged by Chris, the brothers took part in a half IRONMAN in Staffordshire.

Kev, 39 year old crew manager at Garstang, who lives in Catterall, explained that after watching Chris he had wanted to compete too: “After that the next step is to try a full one so I decided I would go for Bolton this year. Hopefully you get a lot of encouragement off spectators.

They have been joined by YMCA fitness instructor and retained firefighter Sammie Stuart, 25. She and Kev have been training at the YMCA leisure centre in Garstang and each Friday the trio get together for more training.

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They are looking forward to being cheered on by family and friends and Ken and Sammie say they will be getting a special IRONMAN tattoo if they complete the July 17 challenge, which comprises a 2.4 mile swim in Pennington Flash, a 112 mile cycle ride taking in Bolton, Belmont, Rivington, Adlington and Parbold and a 26.2 mile run.

Chris added a thank you is due to Ian Thornhill of Bowland Bicycles and former fire crew manager Roland Kelsall for their support with training.

• Chris is also looking forward to representing Great Britain at World Championships in duathlon (cycling and running) in Switzerland in September, having come 17th in the European championships in May in Copenhagen.

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