Just over a year and a half ago, I was lying at the side of the road in Wales with a broken left wrist, right arm, right shoulder blade and a badly torn muscle in my leg, not really sure what the future was going to look like... I had just been involved in a bad accident on my motorbike caused by another driver.

Fortunately, the Wales Air Ambulance were quick to attend the scene of the accident, assessing my injuries and providing specialist medical treatment at the side of the road before taking me to hospital in Stoke-on-Trent. A few days later, I underwent major surgery to fix the bones in my wrist and arm, before a long trip back home to Dundee.

I'm incredibly grateful for the help I have received from everyone following the accident, but I know without the specialist support of the Air Ambulance team, things could have been a lot worse. Recovery hasn't been easy, but they have undoubtedly given me the chance to make the best recovery possible.

Almost having everything taken away from me has put a different perspective on things and made me more determined than ever. Without the use of my arms initially, my recovery was focused on walking, then eventually jogging/running, setting myself small goals and targets to focus on along the way. This helped balance my mental health as well as getting some physical exercise alongside physio. This has taken me from hobbling a few meters at a time to eventually being able to walk and run longer distances. Last year I ran two half marathons then went all out in October with the Bennachie Ultra, a 50km ultramarathon with 1500m ascent, which was challenging to say the least! I've also recently set a sub-20 min 5k pb which I'm mega happy with.

I've been ramping things up so I could take on an even bigger challenge to raise money for the Wales Air Ambulance as a way of showing my gratitude for their help. So on the 16th of May, I will be returning to Wales for the second time in my life to take part in the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 50k (UTS 50). This is a 56km ultramarathon with over 3500m ascent and is said to be one of the hardest in Europe.

This will be a huge challenge for me and I would love to raise as much as I can for the Wales Air Ambulance in the process to help support the important work they do. I have set my fundraising target at £2900 as this was the average cost of an air ambulance mission when I had the accident, however I understand their costs have increased, so it would be amazing if we could beat that.

Thanks very much for reading and I really appreciate any donations you are able to give. I'll keep you all updated on my training progress and let you know how the event goes in May.

Also, if anyone has been through anything similar and wants to talk about it, please feel free to reach out.

Cheers,

Kenny