Four Ryedale men, including our senior sales member Mike Richmond, have completed their endurance charity challenge.
The quartet – Mike, Dave Twaddle, Adam Simpson and Grant Bulmer – came together across two days to complete the epic event to raise awareness and money for the charities Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK.
The team set out at 6am on Friday 25 June from the Pickering Recreation Club along with support cyclist and navigator Sally Smoker and support runner/cyclist Paul Scaife. They did not stop running until 11.30pm when they clocked up 100km just outside of Aysgarth, a few miles from base camp in Marsett in the Yorkshire Dales.
The following day the team left Marsett just after 9am along with an army of friends and fellow cyclists, plus vehicle support from Jillie Lazenby. They completed a route which passed through Pateley Bridge and Easingwold, finishing 100 miles later at approximately 7.30pm in Pickering to a warm welcome at the Pickering Recreation Club who provided a barbeque, raffle and also donated the sale of some of the drinks on the night, providing friends and family with a place to celebrate and an opportunity to add a substantial amount to the team’s already impressive fundraising effort.
Adam said: “This event was really about so many people. However, in particular there were two people who we were running and riding for. Firstly, Dave Twaddle’s wife Marie, who was taken far too soon at just 41 last Christmas, and David Ludlow, a friend of mine who is suffering terribly with an illness which is sadly winning the fight.
“For Dave and Marie (pictured above), Macmillan Cancer Support really helped them during Marie’s fight with this illness and it was Marie’s choice for the team to fund raise for that cause. For David Ludlow, seeing fundraising go towards the research of potential new treatments and cures was important to hopefully give people what is not available for him and so the team supported his choice of charity, Cancer Research UK.
“We are all affected by cancer one way or another during our lives and this event has touched so many people. Riding in to so many people at the recreation club was an extremely emotional end to this challenge and it felt right that the occasion should be able to give, in particular, Marie’s family and friends the opportunity to come together and be involved.”
The current fundraising total is at an estimated £9,000 and the team do not want to stop until they reach the £10,000 mark.
The huge effort was made possible by an army of family and friends including Adam’s wife Sarah, Dave’s mother Kath and auntie Midge and Marie’s sisters, Dawn and Carrie Ellerby, and friends Karen Atkinson and Julie Hogarth, who provided roadside support along the way, keeping the team fed and providing warm drinks and towels during what proved to be a wet and chilly day. As well as friends and family, Big Bear Bikes also offered support and we have pledged a donation of £1,000 to the fundraising effort.
Mike said: “We have realised how much this has meant to people and we know we can get to the £10,000 mark. The fundraising and support really spurred us on and even though at times the run was especially tough, there was never a negative thought or word throughout the team who were committed to completing this challenge no matter what.”
If you would like to donate, please visit the team's JustGiving page.
Pictured above, left to right, are Grant, Adam, Dave and Mike.
