A BUDDING athlete has less than two months left to complete a whopping 1,830km triathlon charity challenge.

Ellen McIntosh, 23, has set out to run 300km, cycle 1,500km and swim 30km before her October 31 deadline

Ellen, from Coggeshall, has taken on the epic feat to raise money for pioneering dementia research.

She signed up for Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Treble Challenge earlier in the year before the country went into lockdown because of the pandemic.

Athletes could choose between three challenges of different distances.

Ellen signed up for the toughest.

Entrants can clock up the kilometers anywhere and in any order so long as they complete their goals by the end of October.

Ellen said: “I signed up for the challenge before the UK lockdown and I was excited to push myself to achieve this.

"Having lost out time to swim and having to juggle the stresses of life during Covid I now only have less than two months to complete the challenge.

“Thanks to the kindness of the Essex Golf and Country Club, I will be able to complete my cycling on their bike."

She added: "Alzheimer’s research is so important to me.

"Those with dementia have been hit hardest by this pandemic and I feel like completing the challenge is my way of giving something back.”

Julia Sobik, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Every three minutes someone in the UK develops dementia and the condition is now the country’s leading cause of death.

“Dementia is society’s biggest medical challenge, but with research the diseases that cause dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, can be overcome.

“We are so grateful to everyone who is taking on the Treble Challenge.

"The vital funds raised will help us in our mission to make breakthroughs possible for people with dementia that will keep them connected to their families, their worlds and themselves for longer.”

Ellen has so far raised £240.

To sponsor her go to triathlon.thetreblechallenge.org/pages/ellen-s-epic-treble.