Matthew doesn’t MIND the pain of charity cycle
‘If it helps one person it will be worth it’
AMAN who cycled the length of the country said if his fundraising can help one person’s mental health it will be “worth all the pain”.
Matthew Murray completed the arduous challenge of cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, helping raise over £2,500 for charity Rochdale and District Mind along the way.
Pedalling an average of over 100 miles from morning til night, it took the personal trainer nine gruelling days to finish the route but he was pleased with his achievement.
The 32-year-old said:
“Mental health has become really important - for everybody really - and as a personal trainer as well I wanted to highlight how people can be helped with their mental health.
“I went and visited the place (Rochdale and District Mind) a while ago and it really highlighted how much they need the help to keep doing the fantastic work that they do.
“If we can get even one more person through the doors then it’s worth all the pain we went through for eight or nine days.”
Matthew, from Castleton, set off from the Cornish coast with three other members of Rochdale Triathlon Club (Daniel Evans, Paul Elliot and Andrew Paslowski) on August 10 and arrived at the tip of mainland Scotland on August 19. Alongside Daniel, Matthew estimates he’s raised £2,750 so far. He said one of the hardest moments was when they got lost on their biggest day - when they had to cycle 140 miles.
“Just getting up in the morning and knowing you have to cycle 100 miles every day was really mentally draining”, he added.
“There was obviously some really tough bits but it was also really enjoyable. Getting to Scotland was great and surprisingly not as hilly.”
Though he had planned on doing the bike ride anyway, Matthew did it as a member of Castle Hawk Golf Club, which he has been a part of for almost 20 years. The Castleton club, where Matthew sometimes works as a golf fitness coach, have chosen Rochdale and District Mind as their charity of the year.
Working at Metcon Personal Training, in Whitworth, Matthew has done a couple of Ironmen races in the last few years but said he was tempted by the longdistance cycle as: “I wanted a fresh challenge away from running.
“It was kind of a bucket list thing. It’s something I have always wanted to do since I was young.”