FORMER favourite son Michael Wilson has challenged himself to take on the Melbourne Ironman as part of the Tour de Cure in order to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation.

The 2004 premiership player and 1997 NAB AFL Rising Star winner currently works as one of the club's physiotherapists and has been training for over a year to be fit and prepared for the event which will take place on March 23 in Melbourne.

He is doing it all to show his support for his mother Regina who suffers from myelofibrosis - a rare form of blood cancer whose sufferers are supported by the foundation.

The Port Adelaide Football Club is right behind Wilbur’s challenge and encourages any willing supporters to get behind its on-field champion by donating money to his Tour de Cure campaign.

Wilson told portadelaidefc.com.au of the work he has put into preparing for the event, which will combine a three-kilometre swim, 180 kilometre ride and a marathon run.

“I wanted to raise some money for a worthy charity and I like doing Ironman triathlons,” explains Wilson.

“I’ve always seen other people combining fundraisers with doing things they love and so I decided to do the same.

“I’ll be raising the money with Tour de Cure to support the Leukaemia Foundation. Mum has a form of Leukaemia and the foundation does a lot of work with her and others to support them.

“I think raising money for something you want to support is a worthwhile thing to do.”

Long rides, early morning swims and regular running has been a feature of Wilson’s preparation since retiring in 2008. Hampered by injury during his career, Wilson carved a reputation as the heart and soul of the Power during the late nineties and throughout the 2000s.

Nothing has changed, and he’s now firmly focussed on channelling his focus into a worthy cause.

“Since retiring I’ve gradually built up my fitness on a back of a couple of surgeries.

“I’ve been trying to get right for this for the last 12 months. It’s been a lot of work over a long time.

“It’s probably a 9 ½ hour event so I’ll need to be on top of my game.

“Everyone knows of someone who’s dealing with something, whether it’s a brother, sister, auntie or uncle, their mum or their dad.

“Someone close to me is affected by illness and I’m just trying to drum up some support. If our people have some left over Christmas money that they’re thinking of giving to charity, hopefully they’ll get behind me and support the Leukaemia Foundation.”

Click here to donate to Wilbur’s Tour de Cure campaign