Posted: July 18, 2007

Triathlon: Charity auction winner prepares to pop the champagne cork for more than one reason

As the adopted charity for the Salford BG Triathlon World Cup, Leukaemia Research has received a generous donation of over £4,000 thanks to competitors who bid for a sought - after place in the race. Having sold out just days after opening, this year's event set aside 12 charity race places allowing people to compete for Leukaemia Research. In order to generate the highest possible sum, keen prospective competitors were invited to put forward a sealed bid in an online auction. Didsbury based Marni Jones was one of the 12 successful bidders to secure a place in this spectacular race, having donated nearly £600 to the charity. On hearing the news that she had been offered the race place, Marni was overjoyed, especially given that husband Martin had already managed to secure a place to race on 29 July. They will now both compete on day after their first wedding anniversary - so will be advised to hold off the champagne till after the big day. Commenting on this, Marni said: "I've never raced at Salford before so am really excited about the prospect. Martin signed me up for a sprint triathlon when we moved to the UK from Canada in 2001 and since then I've been bitten by the bug. "It was also a great opportunity to show our support for a very worthy cause - cancer has affected some of our close friends and family, so it's very important for us to recognise the hard work of charities like Leukaemia Research. "We've already done a half marathon, two sprint triathlons and an Olympic distance which should help to make us feel prepared. However, we've figured that we just want to do our best and if there's any serious competition going on it's about racing each other in a bet to get out of doing the dishes for a week!" Kate White, Director of Fundraising at Leukaemia Research, said: "We are delighted that such a great amount has been raised through the auction and are very grateful to everyone who took part." Salford BG Triathlon World Cup is a free event and takes place on Sunday 29 July at Salford Quays. For more information on the Salford BG Triathlon World Cup visit www.trisalford.info. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest