Giles Smith

Peaks Challenge is classed as one of the top 10 hardest one day cycling events in the world. 245Klm, 4500m of vertical climbing with the hardest climb coming at the 200klm mark. It has a 13 hour cut off.

I first did this ride in 2014 with a great friend of mine, Murray. It took me over 11 hours and I put it on my never need to do again list. Murray went on to do 2 more in under 10 hours each time.

Since then Murray has been diagnosed with MND and seeing what he is going through has spurred me on to do Peaks challenge again, only this time I'm aiming to do it under 9 hours and raise money for the MND and Me Foundation along the way and to become part of the solution to ensure no-one has to face Motor Neurone Disease alone.

I know that the MND and Me Foundation does great work supporting both people with MND and their families while also funding critical research.

This is our chance to help them make a positive difference is the lives of people impacted by MND.

No donation is too small and any support you can provide is greatly appreciated.

What is Motor Neurone Disease?

You have nerves in your brain and spinal cord that control how your muscles work. These are called motor neurones. MND is a disease that affects the motor neurones. With MND, motor neurones gradually stop telling your muscles how to move. When muscles no longer move, they become weak, which can also lead to stiffness and loss of muscle mass (wasting). MND is a life-shortening illness that can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. This is usually different for each individual. You may not get all of the symptoms and there is no set order in which they happen. The disease will progress, which means symptoms will get worse over time. For some people this can be rapid, for others it is slower. There is currently no cure for MND.