A GRAYS man pushed himself to the limit in a triathlon - but finished smiling after raising £2,000 for a blood cancer charity.

Mark Lee, 31, made his way around the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, completing the gruelling course - which is the second longest in the UK, in one hour 50 minutes, to the cheers of his family and friends.

He took part in the triathlon after his dad, Geoff, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in July last year. Since his diagnosis he had intensive chemotherapy and underwent a stem cell transplant in February, which he is currently recovering from.

Mark said: “Since my dad was diagnosed, the team treating him and the treatment he received has been faultless throughout. I wanted to do something to help support their work, which is why I decided to take part in the Blenheim Palace Triathlon and fundraise for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

“It felt brilliant to have completed the challenge and to have raised so much money, in such a short space of time.”

To sponsor Mark, go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MarkLeetriathlon.