I have followed the work of Animal Free Research UK for many years now as I have always felt that animal research was often unnecessary and misleading. Their work  has clearly shown this to be true and the technologies they are helping to develop are making non-animal testing more and more accurate and cost effective every day.

In October last year I ran (and then walked, and then hobbled) over 170km, from one end of the Sierra Nevada national park (Andalucia, Spain) to the other. I was amazed how many kind, generous supporters donated to my ridiculous stunt, which ended up raising £523. It wasn't an easy trip- my flight out was cancelled so I had to complete the route backwards. I spent two days lost in the mountains, eventually completing the route via a huge detour. This took me through a small town where the 24 hour fiesta for the running of the bulls meant that I walked for two days without sleep. After a very strange night of walking by star light, accompanied by an alsation who followed me from about 3am until 9:30 the next day, I eventually fell asleep in a bus shelter with a flotilla of hot air balloons flying overhead. Those were just two of the 9 days I spent on the move.

Despite the many difficulties along the way, I had an amazing time and was keen to get another long distance trip for charity organised as soon as possible! Sadly due to the coronavirus, my original plan for this year (to run the coast of Portugal from end to end) has been put on hold but now that there is some movement I've decided to do the next best thing and mount a long distance expedition around the coast of my native Wales. The plan is to traverse the Brecon Beacons national park, head towards the coast using National Cycle Routes, follow the coast all the way to the northeast of Wales and then join the Pennine Way to get back into the Peak District, and eventually home to Sheffield. The trip will total around 300 miles and my goal is to complete it in under two weeks. I will be riding my On One steel framed mountain bike, carrying all my gear in pannier bags, wild camping wherever possible throughout the journey and avoiding towns and civilisation as much as I can! The bulk of the riding will be off road.

Here is a short note from Animal Free Research UK on the fantastic work which they are doing, saving millions of lives every year, both animal and human:

We are driving ethical, evidence based research to fight, prevent and cure human diseases. And we’re doing it by investing in the most innovative research which focuses on humans without the use of animals. We are creating a future where animals are no longer used in medical research, where scientists focus on new techniques which are human relevant, giving better outcomes for everyone, people and animals alike. With your amazing support, we can advance human health and end the use of animals in medical research, forever.

This research is more vital in the light of the current crisis than ever before, so please give generously if you can.