A new year, and a new challenge to raise money for charity that I wanted to share with you!
The short version -
- This year I’m aiming to raise $20K for charity, starting with the The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
- In return for your sponsorship, I’m setting myself the challenge of completing the Hotshot 500 Fitness Challenge – this is what wild fire firefighters (known as Hotshots!) in the US do to prove their metal, and is considered an all round grueling fitness challenge. In short, 500 repetitions with a 50lb pack of pushups, squats, burpees, arm curls, shoulder presses, flutter kicks and rows, all while climbing a mountain!
Link to sponsor me here - https://fondationduchildren.com/en/fundraising/ascending-mount-everest-for-montreal-s-children-s-hospital
The long version -
Last year I did Ironman Florida to raise money for charity, primarily for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a charity that's been close to my heart. This year, I’m switching it up a little, and starting with raising funds for The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation through May and June, and then in July I’ll switch to raise funds again for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Why both? Well I’m a Montrealer now, it’s Montreals oldest Children’s hospital thats been caring for sick kids since 1906, and I want to give back to something local with MCH being a very worthy cause. And as for LLSC, it’s a cause I’ve been long committed to!
I’m being a little presumptuous in hoping that you’d consider sponsoring me this year. Obviously I wouldn’t expect you to cough up some pennies without something in return, and thats where this years challenge comes in. With three small kids that are growing by the day, and a demanding job, I can’t commit to the hours long training regime needed for another Ironman (and I’ve already ticked that box), so I needed to find something new. After searching for tough fitness challenges that I felt were worthy to ask for your sponsorship, I came across the Hotshot 500. This is a fitness test that wild fire firefighter crews use in the United States to prove they are fit enough for the job. What does it entail? In a single effort, it involves speed hiking up a mountain (I am choosing White Face Mountain in upstate New York for this bit), and during the ascent, you have to do 100 push-ups, 100 flutter kicks, 100 bent over rows, 50 curls, 50 shoulder presses, 50 burpees and 50 squats, all with a 50 lb pack on! And the goal is to do it as quickly as possible without breaks. This will be a totally new challenge for me, as it’s very different from a pure long distance endurance event as it will need a combination of endurance and explosive energy.
The date I’ve set myself for the Hotshot 500 is September 1st, so that gives me a little under 4 months to train (and I’m in pretty rotten shape having done very little since Ironman Florida!) Madness - probably. A worthy challenge for MCH and LLSC? Certainly!
If you are so kind as to donate, I’ll include you in my regular blog and training update where I’ll share my journey from Plop Shot to HotShot!
Wish me luck, and thanks for considering sponsoring me.
Dan