A cancer survivor is aiming to try each of the 41 Olympic sports before the Rio 2016 closing ceremony in order to raise money for charity.
Freya Rodger is in remission from non-Hodgkin lymphoma - a type of cancer that attacks part of your immune system called the lymphatic system.
The 55-year-old has already completed 37 of the Olympic sports open to women, including rugby, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, boxing and many, many more.
She hopes to complete all the sports on her list before 21st August and has dubbed her epic challenge the ‘Freyathlon’.
“As a middle-aged, overweight woman in remission from cancer I’ll have plenty to share about my exploits,” she says on her fundraising page.
Rodger was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma back in 2012.
“When I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, my world grew small and travel was mainly between home and hospital for tests, procedures, and appointments,” she says on her website.
“And when I began chemotherapy, delivered as a hospital inpatient in an isolation room, my world became even smaller.
“In less than a month I went from cycling to and from work every day to lying in a hospital bed for days on end, working my way through ‘Breaking Bad’, and relying on visitors for news of the outside world.”
After six months of chemotherapy she finished treatment in 2013 and moved into remission.
But the months spent in bed had a negative impact on her fitness. Rodger says she’d never been particularly sporty, but was shocked when she couldn’t even walk up the stairs without getting out of breath.
She decided to make rebuilding her health and fitness a priority and started walking to the end of the street every day, then going back out on her bike.
Just six months after finishing treatment she cycled 52 miles for the LondonBikeathon and two years after finishing treatment, she took part in her first ever 10k run.
But the ‘Freyathlon’ is bar far her biggest challenge to date.
Rodger is completing the challenge to raise money for Bloodwise and Macmillan Cancer Support, who helped her during her own treatment.
So far, her page has raised almost £500 but she still has 17 days left to go.
The marketing executive is also trying to complete the sports on a tight budget, in order to show others that exercise doesn’t have to be expensive.
“I want to complete as many events as possible in and around SE London – because I live there and want to find out what activities are available on my doorstep,” she says.
“And I want each event to be no or low cost – because I don’t think being active has to be expensive.”
Support Freya Rodger’s challenge by donating on her fundraising page or follow her progress on her website, Facebook page or Instagram.
