Neil’s 1000-miles for cancer charity
Land’s End to John O’Groats cycling challenge
An East Calder cyclist is pedalling 1000- miles for a charity which gives cancer patients hope in their battle with the disease.
Neil Duff, 49, is currently on his way from Land’s End to John O’Groats in a gruelling two-week challenge.
He’s doing it all for Pancreatic Cancer Scotland, who raise awareness of the disease and are striving to find more effective treatment for patients.
It’s after Neil’s mother-in-law Theresa Hunter, passed away just six days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Speaking ahead of the challenge, which began on Sunday, Neil said: “Doing cycle challenges was something that never occurred to me until a few years ago. I had never done anything like this before.
“I did the Pedal for Scotland event two years ago with my son and I really enjoyed that so this idea was really borne out of my enjoyment of that challenge.
“I think at my age, doing a distance cycle is better than competing in a race.”
Neil will be joined by his friend Scott Hunter during the challenge, which ends at John O’Groats on September 17.
The pair will cover between 59 and 83-miles every day, with the average distance being 72-miles.
He said: “I don’t know anyone that’s done this before but I’ve read stories about people who have.
“The longest distances seem to be at the end though so that’s going to be interesting.
“The reason I chose Pancreatic Cancer Scotland is because my wife’s mother Theresa died at the age of 68 after a very short battle with the disease.
“She passed away just six days after being diagnosed, so it was very aggressive.
“My wife’s grandfather also fell victim to the disease as well, so for our family it hit very close to home.”
Neil added: “We have a just giving page and having set a target of £300, we’ve hit £ 650 already. We’ve had huge support and would like to thank everyone who has donated.”
Doing cycle challenges was something that never occurred to me until a few years ago