THE MIGHTY PUSH ( www.themightypush.com )

The Mighty Push starts on 8th April - See blogs, photos, & videos of the challenge at offexploring (click for link) (Leave messages for us as well!!)                                    

 

National News Item on TV3 in New Zealand (click for link)

http://www.3news.co.nz/Unlikely-cyclist-fundraises-for-spinal-cord-research-/tabid/309/articleID/149934/Default.aspx

                         

THE MIGHTY PUSH ADVERT (click for link)

 (as shown on the big screens at Murrayfield at half time during the Scotland vs England match)

THE MIGHTY PUSH INTERVIEW (click for link)

(with special guest appearances by Gavin & Scott Hastings & Roger Baird!!)

20 years ago my life was devastated when I suffered a spinal cord injury while playing rugby for a season in New Zealand.  At that time I had just completed a degree at the Scottish School of Physical Education and was playing rugby for Glasgow, and at junior international level.  Unfortunately this sort of story is not too unusual as the type of person who suffers a spinal cord injury, whether it be from rugby, horse riding, skiing, cycling or simply driving a car, is typically young and active.  When I suffered my injury the thought of a cure was a distant hope and progress has been slow.  Currently, however, a number of treatments are on the verge of moving from the laboratory to clinical trials and as such are close to achieving one of the holy grails of medical science – repair of the spinal cord.

 In order to raise money to help their development I’m going to return to New Zealand to complete a 250 mile handcycle journey in three sections; from Burwood Spinal Injuries Unit in Christchurch, where I was initially treated, across the Canterbury Plains (109 miles), along the lake Tekapo canal system (50 miles) and finally along the Otago Rail Trail (93 miles) towards Dunedin.  To give you an idea of the size of this challenge; the longest cycle I’ve achieved in one day so far is the 13 miles I completed when I did the Great North Run in 2006.  In this challenge I plan to average a marathon distance on each day and to make it even more demanding only about ½ of the route is on road surfaces with the rest being on gravel and other unsurfaced paths.

If you are reading this I am clearly hoping that you will support this cause, but before you decide, I would just ask to you to take a few seconds to think about how different your life would be if in your teens or early 20’s you had been unlucky enough to suffer paralysis and loss of feeling from such an injury.  It is a difficult thing to imagine but the reality is that every year numerous people are confronted by such a prospect.  Treatments are, however, on the horizon that could make a massive difference to their quality of life and I therefore hope you can show your support by making a donation.

All the money donated to this challenge will go via Hearts and Balls (registered charity) to research projects working towards Human Trials of treatments for spinal cord repair.  I would also like to thank Hearts and Balls for their contribution to the costs of this challenge.  Any additional cost will be paid for by myself and my wife so all money raised will go towards research.