ME/CFS has been overlooked for far too long. This fundraiser is a chance to support research, raise awareness, and help push for the progress that people with ME/CFS urgently need and deserve.

Gary Shorrock is taking on one of Britain’s most demanding endurance challenges: the Bob Graham Round in the Lake District (www.bobgrahamclub.org.uk).

To complete it, he must cover around 66 miles, summit 42 fells, and climb more than 8,200 metres — approximately 26,900 feet of ascent — all within 24 hours. That means steep, rocky, boggy terrain, long hours on the move, and likely sections in darkness and harsh weather. The Bob Graham Round is an exceptional test of endurance, preparation, judgement, and determination. Only aound 3000 people have ever achieved it.

Gary has previously undertaken major endurance events and fundraising challenges, raising over £20,000 for children’s hospital. This time, he is taking on the Bob Graham Round to raise money for a devastating yet underfunded condition.

ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome) is a serious, disabling, life-altering illness. It can leave people unable to work, study, socialise, or manage ordinary daily activities. In severe and very severe cases, it confines people to their beds. Research has shown that quality of life for people with ME/CFS can be among the worst reported for any medical condition.

Scientific research is increasingly identifying objective biological abnormalities in ME/CFS, including in blood, immune and metabolic function. Yet despite its severity, the illness has remained profoundly underfunded for decades.

The funds raised through this challenge will go to ME Research UK, a charity that commissions and funds high-quality biomedical research into the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS.

The work of ME Research UK reflects the urgent need for better scientific understanding of a disease that affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and leaves many housebound or bedbound, with their lives on hold.

This fundraiser has been co-organised by Gary Shorrock and his brother, Steven Shorrock, after learning more about the enormous impact of ME/CFS, its extremely poor quality-of-life burden, and the longstanding lack of research funding devoted to the illness. The cause has become deeply important to the family.

As Gary pushes through climbs, rough ground, and the cumulative toll of a full day in the mountains, this challenge will honour those living with the reality of ME/CFS, not for a single day, but day after day.

Support for this fundraiser will help contribute to urgently needed research into a devastating and neglected illness. Any donation would be greatly appreciated, and sharing the page would also make a big difference.

One extraordinary effort in the hills can help support something much bigger: better research, greater understanding, and more hope for people living with ME/CFS.

Thank you for your support. It means a lot.

Gary Shorrock and Steven Shorrock