A dynamic duo : Siblings Francesca & Lorenzo take on the London Triathlon for Breadwinners!

A former volunteer mentor of ours, Francesca, recently raised money for Breadwinners while completing the impressive London Triathlon with her brother Lorenzo! We sat down with Francesca to hear all about her incredible exploit and her mentoring experience on our Risers Programme a couple years ago! Enjoy!

Can you tell us more about the triathlon you took part in with your brother?

My brother and I enrolled in the super sprint triathlon of London, which consists of 400mt swimming, 10k cycling and 2.5k running. Each individual distance is absolutely fine… but doing them all one after the other is not so easy!

We used to do athletics and this idea came as a new year’s resolution. My brother immediately accepted the challenge and we signed up!

How did the triathlon go?

It went really well for both of us! My personal goal was to finish under 1 hour and I did 57:55, so I was super pleased with my result. My favourite part was also the most challenging… swimming! I have always been scared of swimming in open water so this was the biggest fear for me, but I was very determined to overcome it.

I took it step by step… I started training in the swimming pool, then did a 1-1 session with a coach in open water (the very same docks where the event was going to be), then went again with my brother… so on the big day we were nervous yes, but not panicking! Also having my brother next to me all the time has been invaluable and made me feel so much calmer!

Were you happy with your fundraising challenge?

We haven’t reached the full target, but people have been incredibly generous and that was a great motivation to us! The Breadwinners team has been super supportive and helpful, so the experience has been very easy and smooth. I would highly recommend it!

Breadwinners helped me setting up the GoFundMe page, provided some content and even sent us a couple of amazing t-shirts for the race! Wearing them during the competition made me super proud and definitely gave me that extra motivation I needed!

Why did you decide to fundraise for Breadwinners specifically?

As soon as we signed up I knew that Breadwinners was the one I wanted to fundraise for. I have been a mentor for them a few years ago and I really enjoyed the experience. You can really see the huge difference it makes in someone’s life! I work for a big charity myself and sometimes it’s not easy to see the impact that donations have on the ground.  

How was your mentoring experience at Breadwinners?

I loved it! The mentee and I shared the same passion for athletics (he is still competing and doing great!) and having such a big interest in common definitely brought us closer! I really enjoyed seeing his confidence growing every time and his language skills also improving so quickly. The most challenging bit for me was to wake up “early” on Sunday morning to get to the market… but once there it was totally worth it! Plenty of grateful and smiling people around you! 

Would you recommend mentoring to your friends? Any words of advice?

Absolutely, yes! It is a great experience and both the mentee and the mentor learn a lot on both a human and professional level. The programme only lasts a few weeks, so give it a go and I am sure you are going to love it too!

Last but not least, most important question! What was your favourite bread on the market?

I love Breadwinners’ bread! My favourite one was the focaccia, it’s not an easy one to find in London and Breadwinners’ one was delicious!

Thank you for sharing Francesca! And a massive congrats to you and your brother on successfully completing this impressive triathlon while fundraising for us! You are superstars! 🧡

Feeling inspired by Francesca’s story?

This could be you! Set up your own fundraiser for Breadwinners today on GoFundMe by selecting our charity when you set up your event!

Don’t hesitate to reach out to our Managing Director Martin at martin@breadwinners.org.uk if you have any questions & don’t forget to tag us on any platforms you choose to promote your amazing event on!