In 2014 I lost my mum, Beryl - it has been 10 years! On the 14th November 2024 at 4am, I will be taking on the vEveresting Challenge to commemorate and celebrate the life of my beautiful mother.

What is vEveresting? This involves cycling uphill, an ascent of 8,848m (29,029ft) - the height of Mount Everest - in one single stint. Short toilet breaks are allowed but sleep isn’t. I will be completing this challenge on my indoor bike trainer, in my garage, through an online application which conveniently hosts this challenge. For those that are familiar with European cycling routes, I will be taking on the virtual version of the iconic Alpe D'Huez - 8.5 times in one sitting!

Aside from the obvious advantage, not having to tackle unpredictable weather conditions, I expect this to be an epic test of endurance. Many people take around 24 hours to complete the challenge. I’m hoping that my physical and mental wellbeing holds up, and I come in earlier than this – that could be rather ambitious given my current state of fitness!

Why am I motivated to raise funds for Kidney Research UK? My intent is twofold - to raise awareness of kidney disease, injury and the devasting impact it has on individuals and loved ones. Secondly, I aspire to raise as much as possible to donate and hopefully bring down the ~7,000 people waiting for a transplant (5,800 of them are waiting for a kidney transplant), and attempt to stop two kidney patients dying each day that are in need of a transplant.

My wonderful mother was one of ~145,000 premature deaths as a result of kidney related disease or injury, which led to my Mum's early passing at the age of only 67. I have missed her every day since.

Please donate to this worthy cause.