Financial planning guru Adrian set to tackle huge fundraiser
An Ayrshire businessman is preparing to embark on a mammoth fundraising challenge in honour of his older brother who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Adrian Murphy, from Ayr, will take on a series of fundraisers as he aims to raise £40,000 for charity MND Scotland.
Adrian, 40, is the CEO of financial planning business Murphy Wealth and Chairman of MND Scotland.
He will be taking on five gruelling events, the peak of these being a seven-day Monster Triathlon (26 June – 2 July), which starts with a 5km swim in Loch Ness, followed by 1,000km of cycling across five days, and finishes with an ultra-marathon (50km) along the Thames in London. He’ll also be taking on the Loch Ness Etape, Etape Caledonia, Edinburgh Marathon and an Ironman in Cork.
Adrian and Brian, 49, are brothers in the close-knit Murphy clan – made up of seven siblings and two parents – who were left shocked and devastated by Brian’s diagnosis in February 2019.
MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided. There are no effective and no cure.
Adrian said: “I’m actually doing five events this year but the Monster Triathlon is really the one that is going to put my endurance, both physically and mentally, to the test.
“I also want to raise a significant amount of money, so it needed to be something big, that was going be painful and push me, to make people donate. It seemed fitting to set my target to £40,000 to mark MND Scotland’s 40th anniversary and my own 40th.
“Everyone else thinks I’m mad for taking on all these events, but Brian thinks it’s great.”
Speaking about his hopes for the funds raised he said: “Brian is ‘lucky’ in some ways. He has a huge support system and the means to get the care and support he needs in place. Not everyone has this, and people with MND do not have time to wait.
“Many rely heavily on MND Scotland for free support to make living with MND easier, and for help to get the care they need in place in time. My goal is to help make an even bigger impact on people’s lives and to make sure no one has to go through this disease alone.
“MND Scotland does this by funding pioneering MND research which is taking us closer to finding a cure, and by providing lifechanging support to people here in Scotland – from financial grants and equipment loan, to counselling, support groups, and much more.
“We can only do this with the support of our fundraisers and donors. So, if you can, please donate to my fundraising page.”
Brian said: “I am really proud of my brother for the way he has responded to my illness, and put so much time, energy and expertise into working for MND Scotland where he has made a real difference. I am incredibly moved by the magnitude of the challenges he is taking on and that my illness has inspired him to attempt to raise this huge sum of money which will help improve the lives of people affected by MND.”
To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/adrianmurphymndmonsterchallenge.