Our Vice-Chancellor is taking part in the IronMan Wales challenge

On Sunday the 18th of September acting Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth university, Professor John Grattan, will swim 2.4 miles, cycle a whopping 112 miles, and finally run a full marathon (26.2 miles) to the finish line. All in less than 17 hours. And he’s doing it all for the benefit of us, the student body of Aber. He is taking part in Ironman Wales, known for having one of the most challenging bike and run courses on the IronMan calendar. He is raising money for the Aber fund, specifically towards student hardship and student well-being.

The IronMan himself

Speaking about the challenge ahead in an interview posted on the University Facebook page, Professor Grattan, sporting some fetching bright yellow sportswear emblazoned with the University logo whilst peddling away on a cycling machine, said: “We have a campaign every year to encourage charitable giving to [the Aber fund], and I thought this year, having been inspired by the work of our Alumni, that I would try and raise money myself, so I thought I’d enter this crazy challenge.”

“I’ve put the training hours in, so now it’s just a matter of pulling it all together on the day.”

Cue training montage

At the time of writing, Proffessor Grattan’s fundraising page has accepted £3,582.82 in donations, with a week still to go.

I’m sure that the student community of Aberystwyth will join the Tab in wishing Professor Grattan the very best of luck!

You can donate to Professor John Grattan’s Ironman Wales campaign here.