Halesowen friends to take on Iron Man for hospice

Tom Edmonds-Hill and Joshua Hanson will attempt an ultra-triathlon, completing more than 140 miles in one day split across swimming, biking and running, on Saturday July 1.

The former Lutley Primary and Windsor High pupils aim to raise £2k for the Stourbridge-based hospice which is close to their hearts from their justgiving page.

Tom Edmonds-Hill and Joshua Hanson (Image: Handout)

Two years ago the pair, who are both aged 23, ran a marathon - 26 miles from Worcester to Halesowen and raised more than £2k for the hospice - where two of Tom's mother's uncles and his dad's best friend were cared for as well as Joshua's great uncle.

Tom, a former substitute teacher at Windsor High, said: "We are incredibly proud of where we are from, so our target is to complete this event in local area.

"We will use the newly developed Halesowen leisure centre alongside Halesowen athletics club for portions of the race.

"The event itself may take over 12 hours to complete and will be pushing us to our limits."

The 152-length swim will start at Halesowen Leisure Centre at 7am. Then the pair will set out on a 112-mile bike journey, covering the distance around the Halesowen, Sandwell and Birmingham area, before heading over to Stourbridge and Dudley.

To finish the triathlon, they will run a marathon, finishing at Halesowen Athletics Club, with the final laps around the track from 8pm.

Tom, an occupational health technician, said: "Josh and I thought what better advert to help support the hospice than representing where we are from and applying ourselves to complete such a big task."

Joshua said: "The hospice looked after my great uncle towards the end of his life.

"They were incredibly caring towards him and us as family members.

"They are an incredible organisation."