Stuart McElroy, Director of Biosciences at BioAscent will be undertaking the 2021 European Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships on the 25 September in Valencia, Spain as part of the Great Britain age group team.

After completing his first sprint triathlon in 2006, Stuart has been involved in a variety of race events all the way up to Ironman distance. Stuart qualified for this particular event at the Scottish championships at Monikie in July 2019. After suffering from food poisoning and eating very little prior to the event, Stuart considered withdrawing his entry from the event. However, despite being particularly unwell during the cycling section of the race, Stuart received the news that he had qualified for the GB team to take part in the European Sprint championships in August 2020 in Sweden. Due to his commitments to co-lead the set-up of the Lighthouse Laboratory during the pandemic, and a knee injury, Stuart had completed very little training for the event, which was later cancelled.

However, Stuart has been training consistently since summer 2020 and his hard work and dedication paid off when he achieved third place within his age group at the Scottish Championships in July at Lochore Meadows Country Park. This has allowed him to prepare for the upcoming triathlon which involves a 750m sea swim followed by a 20km cycle and a 5km run and should hopefully take around one hour to complete. The conditions are likely to be hot which may induce additional challenges, but regardless of the outcome, Stuart is set to enjoy the experience.

Speaking of the upcoming event, Stuart says:

“I will be undertaking the event alone but due to the support I’ve received from my family, this is definitely a team event. My involvement in the upcoming event is for both a personal challenge and to raise funds for Child Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), which is a fantastic charity with a strong local presence in my area who work with terminally ill children and their families. This is a very worthy cause.”

BioAscent’s Chief Commercial Officer, Dr Mike Piper adds:

“Stuart has faced one of the biggest challenges of his career when he was taken out of the business to set up the Lighthouse Lab in Glasgow. This now is a personal challenge, and the management team at BioAscent are in awe of his determination and drive after what has been a particularly demanding time for Stuart. We are delighted to support his chosen charity and in the sponsorship of his kit will be cheering him on from here in Scotland.”

To donate and support Stuart, you can view his JustGiving fundraising page here.