Marathon ride raises £5000
A Braco fitness enthusiast raised over £5000 for cancer research by cycling the 874 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End.
Joe Parish, 25, accomplished the feat in just 10 days after pledging to push himself “to the absolute limit to achieve this in the shortest time possible”. The £5093 he netted was raised primarily through the crowdfunding website Justgiving and donated to Cancer Research UK.
Joe, who seven years ago moved from Braunton, North Devon to study at Stirling University, said: “I was surprised to have lots of different people join me on the route. Having people from Scotland, the north of England and the south of the country jump in was amazing.”
Joe said he had the idea for the cycle two years ago after visiting a friend in hospital who was battling cancer.
“I decided that I wanted to do something to raise cancer awareness, as well as go outside of my comfort zone. It was something to cross off my bucket list,” he added
Preparation for the cycle took him around three months as he confessed on his crowdfunding page: “I think the last time I rode a bike for any length of time was when I had my paper round at the age of 15”.
The journey was documented mostly through social media, with Joe posting regular updates on Instagram and sharing photos on Facebook.
“It was an absolutely incredible challenge,” he said. “The support from everybody has been amazing.
“It was a truly memorable trip and I am absolutely delighted to have been able to raise over £5000 for Cancer Research UK.” Dorothy Rodger from Cancer Research UK said: “This was a fabulous way to support us and I would like to thank Joe for this amazing effort to raise funds for the charity.”