Iron lady gets back on her bike for Maggie's

Photographed at Maggie's, Sharon Livesey with her medal

AFTER getting not one but two punctures in the first 12 miles of her Ironman UK competition, Sharon Livesey thought her dream of completing the exhausting challenge was already over.

The mum-of-two had already swam 2.4 miles in Pennington Flash and had just started the 112-mile bike ride around Bolton, when the worst happened and her bike got a puncture.

Sharon (38), from Derker, had to quickly repair it and set off on the road again, eager to make it to the final stage of the Ironman UK ­- a 26.2mile marathon run.

But just two miles later she had another puncture.

"The swim had gone really well and I'd set off on the bike with a time goal in mind," she said.

"I had prepared for a puncture and had a spare, but I'd already used it when the second puncture happened.

"It was the worst feeling in the world. I was in tears by the side of the road. My friends from Rochdale Triathlon Club were cycling past, but were powerless to help."

However, thanks to some good luck, determination and a replacement inner tube, Sharon got back on her bike and then faced the challenge of completing the cycling part before the cut-off time.

"You have to finish the entire Ironman within 17 hours and I'd lost 27 minutes dealing with the punctures," she said.

"I had time to make up on the bike ride to meet the deadlines, so I really battled to make the time up."

The determined hair salon owner succeeded and progressed to the marathon, running three circuits around Bolton town centre.

"I got off my bike and my legs just wouldn't work," she said. "I couldn't move."

After taking some painkillers Sharon started the 26.2 miles with a hobble and worked herself into a run.

"The atmosphere was amazing, there were thousands of people lining the route, cheering and celebrating," she said.

"My brother, who was visiting from Australia, was watching along with members of the triathlon team - it really keeps you going.

"It felt amazing to cross the finish line in the end, it was really emotional as the whole experience had been such a rollercoaster."

Sharon, who owns Mario Hair Design on King Square Shopping Centre, Oldham, was completely overwhelmed when she discovered her finish time of 13 hours, 42 minutes.

"I'd aimed for a time of under 15 hours so to have beaten that, even with the punctures, was great."

Sharon only started doing any form of training, apart from the odd game of rounders, in January 2015.

Last year, she completed 35 events, including the smaller Ironman 70.3, along with marathons and other triathlons. She kick-started volunteer fundraising for Maggie's Oldham before ground had been broken on the new the centre.

With the Ironman challenge part of her fundraising efforts, Sharon is hoping to have raised another £2,000 for the cancer care centre to add the the £2,220 she raised last year.

Sharon said: "Maggie's is a great charity and I'm proud to support it.

"After fundraising last year and joining the fundraising team this year, it was emotional to see it finally open and see how the money will be used to help those affected by cancer."

To donate to Sharon's fundraising appeal visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sharon-livesey1.

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