Hi all

Thanks a lot for coming and visiting my Mongol Derby fund raising page. 

I've got a little silly this time in the hope that it will help me convince you kind people to donate your hard earned money to some very worthy causes....this time it’s a horse race across .

The Mongol

To be exact, a 1000 km horse race across the desolate Mongolian wilderness. I’ll be competing against twenty-four other riders for victory in the longest horse race that has been devised.  Having read the extensive warning from the organisers ( “Bleeding kidneys, broken limbs, open sores, sun stroke and a list of dangers longer than your arm stand between the you and victory.”) this may come down to sheer survival. 

The course

This is no course you and I would imagine. It’s based on Chinggis Khan’s postal route – an enormous network of horse stations leading from his capital out to his far-reaching empire.  The Mongol Derby riders will need to navigate from one horse station to the next across a barren, and very land-mark free, land.  Getting lost is not an option as the riding weight (me and all my kit/supplies) is set 80k. 

The jockey

Up until the beginning of this year, I had ridden around ten times since the age of 13.  This makes me somewhat of an ‘outsider’ in a list of runners that includes champion race jockeys and Olympians.  Since January I’ve been riding (and falling) a lot to get match fit.  I’ve also taken to rubbing surgical spirit into my soft bits to get them toughened up in time for 12 hours a day on a hard, leather and very bouncy seat…. 

Did I mention I like winning?

The Charity - Help for Heroes 

Help for Heroes is a fantastic charity that raises money for the service men and women that are injured in conflicts around the world.  Help for Heroes make sure that the money is channelled where it matters most, into efficient and well run charitable organisations helping our men and women.  The work that is carried out ranges from the vital treatment of combat stress and the building of new hospital facilities to simply making sure that recovering troops have funds to be taken out for morale boosting beer and bite to eat.

Please do give as much as you feel you can, every penny counts!

Thanks a million.

Will