June Grey is a woman with iron willpower, but she reckons that is nothing compared to the strength people have when they battle with
cystic fibrosis on a daily basis. For the last five months she has been training aggressively to compete in four endurance challenges in four months while also raising money for the cystic fibrosis (CF) charity Breath4CF. In November Mrs Grey completed the Taupo Enduro cycle race (320km) followed by the Rotorua half ironman (2km swim, 90km bike, 21km run) in December. She completed the Challenge Wanaka iron triathlon (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run) in January and her final event is the New Zealand Ironman (3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run) in Taupo on March 7. The charity Breath4CF is the official charity for Ironman Charity, and competitors are challenged to fundraise. It was Tracey Richardson, the woman who created Breath4CF, and a mother of two children with cystic fibrosis, who challenged herself to compete in an ironman and wrote the book Going the Distance , who inspired Mrs Grey. In 2003 Mrs Grey complete her first triathlon, the Woman’s Special K series.
“Before that I was a couch potato. After reading Tracey Richardson’s book, I was inspired to do more and kept going with my training.” Breath4CF has put Mrs Grey in touch with a woman from Oamaru who has cystic fibrosis and they have been corresponding.