11th June 2008
Seven teams of walkers trekked 50km in the Tweed Valley by moonlight to complete the first ever ScotPLOD challenge last weekend and raise money for charity.
The teams set out at midnight on Friday (June 6) and walked through the night to complete the route, collecting points along the way by applying teamwork, strategy and intelligence as they negotiated wooded valleys and forested trails. Their fantastic efforts helped raise vital funds for two life-saving charities, Action Medical Research and the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue.
First over the finish line was a team from Selkirk-based cleaning products company R P Adam. Team captain Brian Jones led members Robert Nisbet, Heather Carroll, Keith Anderson, Viv Hutchison and Lee-Anne Gillie.
The overall winners, based on points scored along the route, were ‘TYJ’, a team of individuals made up of Maureen Dunlop and Valerie Shand, Action Medical Research volunteers from Glasgow, who were joined by Richard Wroughton, Tino La Torre and Toby Tennant.
Maureen Dunlop said: “What a fantastic event! I thoroughly enjoyed it - even in the dark finding my way through the bracken, heather and the well-hidden marshy holes! The two charities, Action Medical Research and the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team, did a brilliant job in organising a superb event. We’ll definitely be back next year.”
Prizes were awarded at a celebration dinner at the MacDonald Cardrona Hotel in Peebles, however, it was a challenge to keep the exhausted competitors awake!
The event was generously sponsored by BMI Healthcare Scotland, and between them all the participants raised a fantastic amount for the two charities. A team from Amcor S&R in Livingstone raised an amazing £4,000, having been sponsored by many of their company’s suppliers, including Siegwerk their ink suppliers.
Event organiser Cecilia Cooper, from Action Medical Research, said: “The weather was fantastic for this kind of event and although some of the participants were daunted at the start, they all managed to walk through the dark to get the checkpoints successfully. It didn’t take long for the competitive instinct to kick in, but there was great team spirit and camaraderie among all the walkers. We’re already planning to do it all again next year and hope more teams will join us.”
ScotPLOD 2009 will take place on Friday June 12 and Saturday June 13. Anyone interested in entering a team can find more information at www.plod.org.uk/scotplod or by calling Cecilia Cooper on 01236 782820.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For more information about this event please contact:
Cecilia Cooper, Community Fundraising Manager for Scotland Tel: 01236 782820 Email: ccooper@action.org.uk
For more information please contact the Action Medical Research press office
Debbie Broadhurst — Director of Communications
Tel: 01403 327423
Email: dbroadhurst@action.org.uk
Joanna Gilham — Press Manager
Tel: 01403 327493
Email: jgilham@action.org.uk
Patrick Olszowski — Campaigns Manager
Tel: 01403 327404
Email: patrick@action.org.uk
Action Medical Research is a national charity, which is dedicated to building a healthier future for everyone. The Charity is funding research into many serious diseases and conditions, including premature birth, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, osteoporosis blindness, inflammatory bowel disease and stroke.
Action Medical Research has been supporting/funding breakthroughs for over 50 years, and its life-saving work benefits babies, children and adults. The Charity's successes include helping develop the UK polio vaccine, ultrasound scanning in pregnancy, the hip replacement operation, and discovering the link between taking folic acid during pregnancy and preventing spina bifida.
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