Firstly, thank you for visiting my JustGiving fundraising page.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND TO THIS CHALLENGE

Back in mid 2021, I decided I was going to set myself a challenge for my 40th birthday this coming July. After doing some research, I found a company called Rat Race Adventures and decided I really wanted to take part in their San Francisco to Las Vegas event which would see me cycle through Death Valley in average temperatures of around 41oc. Easy, right?

I had to convince my work to let me take a sabbatical. I also had to convince my wife that she would love to look after our 7-year-old while I disappeared for a couple of weeks. Miraculously, both said yes.

I saved for months, told everyone I knew I was doing the challenge and started training. And then, just as I booked my hotel, I found out that the trip was being cancelled. It turns out there aren’t enough crazy people in the world that wanted to do the same thing as me!

So, it was back to the drawing board. I needed something that sounded as epic as the challenge I had set myself before. But it also had to fit in with the time I’d already booked off.

Despite the numerous challenges out there, this wasn’t as easy as you might think – and for a while, I thought I was going to have to give up on the idea entirely.

Instead, I decided to improvise and organise my own challenge. Thank goodness for my parents and their willingness to ‘follow me’ in a campervan, acting as my emergency breakdown cover.

WHAT I’ll BE DOING

I’ll be climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland, England, and Wales – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Snowdon – with a total hiking distance of 63.5km, and a total ascent of 3,730 metres.

Now, if that doesn’t sound quite as epic as my original trip, let me then add in that I’ll be cycling in-between each peak. That’s a total of 737km across 5 days.

Now, while you know I love to cycle, the furthest I’ve ridden consequently is for 4 days with a total distance of 458km. And as I’ve never added in a hike before, this is going to be tough going!

WHY I’M ASKING FOR YOUR SPONSORSHIP

This is a completely self-funded (and already paid for, meaning every penny goes to the charity) trip, so why am I asking for your sponsorship today?

Last Summer, one of my good friends Dan was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. This is a rare, inherited, degenerative disease that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. Unfortunately, there is no known cure at present. There is also a 1 in 2 chance that each of his children will have inherited this disease.

Knowing that Dan carries this gene, and the fact that his health will most likely deteriorate rapidly over the next 10 years or so, is a huge blow to take for him, and his family.

Dan and I first met during an NCT class 8 years ago and has been a great friend ever since. It is hard to see him go through such a traumatic experience, knowing there will be no positive outcome.

The Huntington’s Disease Association has been providing Dan with a tremendous amount of support since receiving the diagnosis. Knowing this is a small organisation that doesn’t receive a lot of funding, I wanted to see if my challenge could help. I would be incredibly grateful for any money you can spare.

FOLLOW MY PROGRESS

If you want to follow my training over the next couple of months, https://www.strava.com/athletes/5310178

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HUNTINGTON’S

If you want to know more about Huntington’s, you can find out more about the HDA website: https://www.hda.org.uk

#TeamHDA