Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.

For full details of the challenge and how it is progressing, visit:

http://mmr2008.niallwilliams.co.uk

The Motivation

I'm doing this challenge for my good friend Tracey Brown. Tracey, 39, suffers from Friedreich's ataxia, a degenerative muscular condition where certain nerve cells in the body become damaged and eventually die.

The brain can still send signals to the muscles, but the muscles are unable to receive the messages.

Sufferers are often mistaken for being drunk as they slur their speech and can stagger when they are walking because they are unable to control their muscle movement.

Tracey has a heart of gold and one of the nicest people you could hope to meet.  Having been in a wheelchair since 1995 she has no use of her legs and uses a modified 'adaptive' Indoor Rower to train on. The modifications include a specially made rowing seat which is put onto the rower and she is strapped into. The seat allows her to slide while rowing, a crucial component of the rowing stroke, which she wouldn't ordinarily be able to do. She does not let her condition limit her life and has successfully competed in indoor rowing competitions both in the UK and internationally and she also enjoys horse riding.

The Challenge

In order to raise well-needed funds, I will be rowing 1 million metres (1000Km/621 miles) on a Concept2 Indoor Rowing machine (generally the rowing machines you get in gyms)  in no more than 100 days. This means averaging 10Km every single day so, trust me, this will be a helluva challenge for me. Any time the going gets tough though, I can draw inspiration from Tracey who I admire immensely for her guts, determination and focus.

Challenge Period: 11th January 2008 - 19th April 2008

The photos above show:

- Tracey with one of her many indoor rowing medals

- me on an indoor rowing machine during a competitive racing event in 2006 (I don't normally look that aggressive, I'm a smiley person really!!)

How you can help

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Ataxia UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.

Niall Williams