Outstanding Olympic effort from MotoNovo triathlon raises thousands for Jigsaw!

An amazing team from MotoNovo and broker partners; DSG & Meridian finance took on the challenge of an Olympic Triathlon recently, raising an incredible £10,151 for Jigsaw (South East). 

This ambitious challenge involved a 1500 metre swim, followed by a 40K cycle, finished off with a 10K run! To find out more about the event and the tragic loss that inspired their fundraising, we caught up with MotoNovo Head of Brokers, Russell Hickman, who organised and took part in the epic challenge.  

Tell us a little bit about you:

I have worked at MotoNovo finance for coming up to 8 years and I have been incredibly fortunate that the business supports individuals who want to help communities, raise money for charity and support our clients through the same. As an active individual, I always seek out a physical challenge when considering charity events. It is rewarding to raise money for charities but also rewarding to push myself to the limits.

What inspired you to take this challenge on?

We work incredibly closely with our clients and on hearing the devastating news from our client that he had lost his wife to a tragic accident, we wanted to do something to support him and his family. Our client uses the services of Jigsaw (South East) and quite simply, couldn’t have got through the incredibly difficult period without the support of your services. The support that you showed to him and his children and to that of other families suffering from bereavements, was a call to action for our team to support your charity. On a personal level, I was also very keen to support your charity as my family suffered the loss of my brother when I was 12. At the time we didn’t have the support of a charity like Jigsaw, and I know we would have greatly benefited from the services you provide. This was also the case for our client; DSG, who suffered a similar loss to me and also wanted to support and contribute to the fundraising.

What kind of training did you do to prepare:

Across the team there was limited training completed! I visited a spa a few months ago and swam 600 metres in their inside heated pool, that was the extent of my training! I have 14-month-old twins and they have restricted me in getting in the required training.

What did you enjoy about the challenge?

I loved seeing individuals push themselves to achieve a personal goal and giving their all on the day. The support, energy and enthusiasm was incredible and as hard as the challenge was to complete, everyone finished the day with a smile on their face.

What was the hardest part of the challenge?

The swim really challenged me. I am not the best swimmer and swimming 1500 breaststroke was a killer on the arms and shoulders! Outside of the actual challenge, booking and organising the event was probably the biggest challenge!

Anything else you’d like to share?