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Growing up... 

I was incredibly fortunate to have three older brothers who were always great fun. We lived next door to the primary school we all attended and my mum ran an after school child care service, this added to the fun of having three brothers and enriched my childhood. 

Of all the kids that came round after school one stood out more than the rest - Ferg (Fergus). He was seven years old when we met him but he had been diagnosed with a brain tumour (an Astrocytoma) at the age of three. This was operated on but his health would never be the same again. His speech, balance and sight were affected and slowly deteriorated during the course of his life. This didn't stop Ferg being a massive character; he was unconventional, often outrageous and frequently hilarious. He was the fifth Phillips brother.

Ferg sadly passed away in 2012 at the age of 31. 

His Mum Barbara is my (and my brothers) hero for the way she made sure Ferg got the very most out of his short life, despite his health problems.

My Brothers and I ran the Edinburgh marathon as a relay in 2013, raising money for the Brain Tumour Action charity, in Fergs memory. In 2020 I agreed to help a friend (Lara) who was hoping to climb Ben Nevis (1,345m - highest mountain in the UK), cycle 156k to the Isle of Skye and then kayak over to the Isle of Raasay. As she was doing it for a brain tumour charity I decided to do it alongside Lara. 

I wasn't in shape last year but managed to complete the challenge and found myself asking "if I can do that in this shape, what could I do if I was in shape?".

Now...

I'm in much better shape. On the 18th of September I'm hoping to virtually cycle the height of Mt Everest (8,848m) - a "vEveresting". I can do this in Antarctica (and believe I will be the first person to do so) with the help of Zwift (an online cycling app/game), my smart trainer and my bike. To complete the challenge I'll have to cycle repeats of one hill until I've done 8,848m. 

Google says the average Everesting takes between 18 and 22 hours. the world record is 6hrs 40min. Put your best guess for a time in when you donate, the closest guess will get a bottle of something nice sent to them -either Whisky or Gin! 

I'll update this page as the 18th gets closer. I hope to be able to open a zoom call on the day - though the internet here may not support that! But I'll add zoom log-in details closer to the time. 

Here are a few links to relevant pages (you'll have to copy & paste them)...

Team Ferg 2013 Edinburgh marathon https://phillipsboysmarathon.wordpress.com 

Lara's Summit to Sea Triathlon Gust giving page (I hope to make a short video of this in the coming weeks) - https://www.justgiving.com/Lara-Gray5?fbclid=IwAR0bWXBisye7Cpn34SHmbFgZ4eg4QeyzbKVzLHiYCLqA02ecSOS4g_fR14A

Here's a video of someone's vEveresting attempt (helpful if my explanation wasn't any good!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRmTvmV-RXI&t=319s

I was and still am called 'Mab' by my family and friends. Ferg always called me Mab, Barbara still does. 

Cheers, Mab.

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