Chester podiatrist Neil Boyle is to attempt to run, cycle and kayak from the east to the west coast of Scotland on September 10-11 to raise funds for an Eccleston-based brain injury charity.
The so-called Rat Race starts in Nairn, 16 miles east of Inverness, and finishes in Ballachulish, 15 miles south of Fort William.
It sees competitors running, cycling and kayaking over 105 miles with a total ascent of 10,840 feet (3,304 metres) through some of the world’s most beautiful, and challenging, mountain scenery.
Neil, who runs podiatry clinics in Saltney and Gresford, said: “I picked the Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Development charity, known as BIRD, because I’m aware what fantastic work they do both within our community and further afield.
“It will be an incredibly tough couple of days, but I’ve been training hard and am confident I can complete the course, barring injury. I really hope people will visit my Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Neil-Boyle3 to donate even a small amount to BIRD – or simply to share details of the event on Facebook.”
The BIRD charity treats people of all ages with a wide range of conditions from mild learning difficulties to Asperger’s Syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy and profound disabilities - as well as people who have suffered injury to the brain from strokes or accidents, for example.
Around three-quarters of the people BIRD helps are children. For most of the people BIRD has helped, it was previously thought that no further improvement was possible, yet over 90% of everyone coming to BIRD shows a marked improvement.
Charity manager Helen Schielke is delighted that Neil chose to support BIRD after hearing about the organisation’s work.
She said: “It means such a lot to us when someone decides to take on such a tough challenge on our behalf after hearing about the work we do.
“Every penny here makes a real difference to the lives of people with brain injuries as we are such a small charity with minimal overheads. Everyone connected with BIRD will be rooting for Neil.”
To learn more about BIRD’s work, please visit www.birdcharity.org.uk .
