Man of Iron Matt is up for the challenge

Matt Longbottom shows off his medal to son Harry (1)

MULTIPLE Sclerosis (MS) has not deterred an Oldham man from pushing his body to the limit in an effort to raise money for the MS Society.

Matt Longbottom (36), senior finance business partner at NHS Oldham CCG, was diagnosed with MS in 2008. Within weeks of his diagnosis the dad of one completed his first challenge to walk up Snowdon, following this in 2010 he tackled Kilimajaro with his dad Richard, raising over £6,000 for the MS Trust in the process.

Matt has more recently completed one of the toughest physical challenges of his life, in the shape of The Outlaw Triathlon. This is an Iron distance triathlon made up of a 2.4mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a full marathon of 26.2miles, to be completed within a 17 hour time limit. Matt managed to finish the course in just 11 hours and 7 minutes, raising hundreds of pounds for the MS Society.

He said: "It was an illness that I had heard of, but knew little about. Eight years on and I am fortunate enough to still lead an active and normal lifestyle, but so many other patients I have met over the last eight years are not so fortunate and have significant disabilities as a result their MS.

"The MS Society is a charity that is close to my heart, so I took it upon myself to set myself small challenges and goals, to give me something to focus on.

"I actually feel like I have achieved more following my diagnosis than I would have done otherwise. I hope that I can continue to embark upon many more challenges in the future and have set myself a promise that as long as I am fit and healthy, I will continue to challenge myself whilst hoping to raise funds for such an amazing and worthy cause."

Matt has completed the Outlaw Triathlon twice, run three marathons, completed two half Ironman distance triathlons and ridden one of the toughest one day cycling races - La Marmotte, a legendary 174 km road cycle race, featuring 5,000m of height gain and comparable to the most challenging high mountain stages of the Tour de France. So clearly, the small challenges and goals have grown in scale as the years have progressed.

If you would like to donate go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/MattLongbottomTri4MS