Maurice Ryder

An avid supporter of Marriage Equality, Maurice completed 5 triathlons over five months in aid of Marriage Equality, between April and August 2010. All the triathlons Maurice completed were sprint distance - 750m swim, 20k cycle, 5k run and all monies raised went directly to Marriage Equality. The events Maurice participated in included:

April 18th - Waterford Crystal Clear Triathlon
May 29th - Slane Castle Triathlon
June 19th - Sive Triathlon, Cahirsiveen
July 17th - Carrick on Suir Triathlon
August 28th - Blackwater Sprint Tri, Fermoy

Here's why Maurice fundraised for Marriage Equality:

"Last year I did one triathlon and managed to raise €500 so this year I decided to challenge myself, get fit and raise money for a good cause all at the same time. So hopefully I'll be able to raise a few more euro for Marriage Equality this year.

The reason I wanted to fundraise for ME is that it is a good cause, doing great work for the cause of civil marriage equality in Ireland. I want them to be able to continue to be able to commission surveys and carry out legal reports such as the one carried out on the civil partnership bill so that we have good, solid reliable information with which to inform the Irish people. ME's 'Out to Your TD' campaign has helped to raise the visibility of the LGBT community in the eyes of our politicians and this grass roots activism is important to support. This is why I want to fundraise for ME.

At the end of the day, the principle of civil marriage equality is an important civil rights issue, probably the defining civil rights issue of the first few decades of the 21st century. It's important to my own conscience that I do something to promote this issue and I feel this fundraising can be part of that."

Update on Maurice's First Triathlon 28.04.10

"The race went pretty well - I did a much better time than last year but with a shorter field I was unfortunately last of the 96 finishers - an unintentional metaphor for the priority the Irish Government places on marriage equality perhaps. Still I was happy with my time of 1 hour 28 minutes. The race was late starting, and I ended up doing an extra two lengths during the swim due to a miscount but it didn't make a huge difference to my overall time. It was great to be out and about and I was particularly happy to be sporting the marriage equality logo across my back for the race. It was great to get the series started, and I'm really looking forward to the next one in Slane Castle already - and looking forward to further support for Marriage Equality over the next few months. I've written a more detailed post over on my blog at http://mushtastic.blogspot.com/2010/04/tri-ing-time.html if people want to check that out".

Update on Maurice's Second Triathlon 29.05.10

"The Slane Triathlon went well enough but I felt I could have done better. I ended up finishing the whole thing in 2hrs 21 minutes and came in 2nd last place of the individual competitors. It was a longer cycle than the first triathlon and a good distance between the swim and the start of the cycle led to longer transition times than normal. Still, it was a good day over all and I'm glad I did it. The venue was spectacular - I've never been to that part of the country before. There was good support there while competing - and I think being passed by most people meant that at least everyone got a chance to see the Marriage Equality message :) ".

Update on Maurice's Third Triathlon 19.06.10

"The third triathlon went well enough. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I had great support from my better half as well as my sister and her daughter. An early start of 10.30am meant we were all done and dusted by lunchtime. Yet again, I put up a valiant fight from the rear of the field. 299th overall but again, twas the taking part that counts. I even got a cheer of support from one of my fellow competitors for my marriage equality t-shirt during the cycle! As always, there's a report on the blog at http://mushtastic.blogspot.com/2010/06/tri-as-i-might.html with a good few photos and even a little bit of video of the day (my supporters were put to good work capturing the day)."

Update on Maurice's Fourth Triathlon 17.07.10

"Was remarkably blessed with the weather and managed to maintain my consistent position of last place for this one as well. Still I managed to beat my time for the previous two triathlons so I was happy with that. I think this one has been my favourite so far. A very relaxed atmosphere and a bigger crowd than the other ones. So four down and one to go. It's been great so far but looking forward to the finish line now :) As always I've posted a more detailed review on the blog - http://bit.ly/bKjXfo"

Update on Maurice's Fifth 28.08.10

"It was a pleasant race overall, although a reduction in training in the weeks before meant I wasn't in the best of condition going into the race. Still I managed to hold my own and even though I finished last again, I was happy enough with my performance. I was very glad to have finished though. As always I've posted a more detailed review on the blog -http://bit.ly/bKjXfo"