My Story:

As a child of Milton Keynes I was brought up in Bletchley where a Willen Hospice shop is still present in the high street. Established in the early 1970's over the years the charity to me has become synonymous with all things Milton Keynes.   

I first raised funds for Willen in the 90's when I ran my first London Marathon. In subsequent years both my sister-in-law and a good friends father were cared for by Hospice before they sadly passed away.

In 2017 Ingram Micro UK, for whom I was the Finance Director, chose Willen Hospice as its charity of choice and we organised a number of events raising more than £21k. In 2018 we chose to continue our support of Willen Hospice with a target of raising in excess of £25k.

I have been an ambassador for The Alzheimer's Society for over 10 years as my mother passed away with the condition. Over this time my self organised challenges have raised +£80k for The Alzheimer's Society and other charities.

Various challenges have included Lands End to John-O-Groats on a bike, Kayak the length of the Thames, and back to back Paris and London Marathons with a cycle between the two cities. My aim has always been two fold, raising funds and raising awareness. The awareness raising peaked in 2015 when on April 25th I was preparing to leave Mount Everest, and at 11.56am Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. 

The 2018 challenge: 

Two weeks in August 2018 will see me return to the high altitude mountains as I attempt to reach the summit of Europe's highest point. Mount Elbrus is found in Russia and stands at 18,510 feet.   

As I write I have +225 days of intense training ahead of me including long hikes, hours in the gym and also a winter training course in the Scottish Mountains in order to hone my Ice Axe and Crampon skills.

As in previous years my aim will be to raise funds for my two chosen charities. 

- £2,500 for The Willen Hospice (hence this justgiving site)

- £2,500 for The Alzheimer's Society (Offline donations)

About Willen Hopsice: 

Willen Hospice provides specialist end-of-life care for adults, focusing on four key areas: specialist symptom control, emotional support, spiritual support and care for carers.

Often the most distressing aspect of living with life-limiting illnesses is the types of pain and symptoms which can arise. Our team of dedicated staff and volunteers can give compassionate, specialist support to patients, and their family members, to help deal with, as they wish to, the physical and emotional effects of both their illness and treatments.