Littlehampton Firefighter Cycles Length Of Britain For Motor Neurone Disease Association

Wednesday, 21 July 2021 06:00

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service firefighter Beth Parry-Evans and her partner Joanna Heal have cycled the length of Britain in just 13 days, raise more than £2,500 for a cause close to Beth's heart.

Beth, who is also a retained firefighter at Shoreham, set off with partner Jo, from John O’Groats, the most northerly point of the British Isles on Monday, July 5, and cycled their way down the length of the country to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA). They arrived in Land’s End on Saturday, July 17 — joined on parts of the challenge by a few friends.

The challenge came about after Beth’s father Mike was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in August at the age of 75. This inspired Beth to find a way of supporting the charity that has already offered so much support and advice, and will hopefully one day help find a cure.

Beth said before the challenge:

“Dad has now lost the ability to speak, eats through a tube into his stomach, and now is at a stage where he struggles to hold his own head up. These are things we all take for granted and don’t think twice about.

“I know there is some fantastic work taking place to find a cure for this disease, and I am confident it will be found in my lifetime. The only way we can help them find that cure even faster is by setting ourselves this challenge that will hopefully inspire others to donate and ultimately raise as much money as possible to help them continue this lifechanging research.

“It is going to be an intense 10 days, during which we will be aiming to complete around 100 miles a day. We are certainly going to have our work cut out on the hills up in Scotland, and then again when we arrive in Cornwall. But we have been training hard, and the 30 day 500km challenge was a really good warm up for the road ahead.”

The Littlehampton Red Watch manager also completed a gruelling 30 day challenge, taking on 500km worth of exercise in June, and raising £5,000 for MNDA in the process.

Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, said:

“Beth has already gone above and beyond to raise awareness and funds for MNDA during June, so to take on a challenge of such magnitude again already is an incredible testament to her strength and devotion. We are all incredibly proud of what she has achieved, and wish her the very best of luck in her next challenge.”

You can support their fundraising here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jobethjogle