The two women, who run a huge pig farm in East Yorkshire alongside their younger sister Kate, became close friends with Sue and Sam at Harper Adams Agricultural College and have taken part in all but one of the tough ‘Where There’s a Will There’s a Way’ events.
Our husbands and children think we are absolutely mad doing this challenge and Kate has sensibly opted out to keep the pigs in check whilst we are away!
The friendship from shared university years has seen the two farmers commit to all but the first one of Sam’s incredible challenges.
Now Sam and Sue Taylor, from Milnthorpe in Cumbria and their team of about 17 friends have planned the Duchenne Research Relay.
They will cycle during 12-13 hour days, the challenge is:
- Day 1. Thursday 12 August. They will cycle from Great Ormond Street Hospital to the MDUK Neuromuscular Centre at Oxford University and onto Bromsgrove
- Day 2. Friday 13 August. They will cycle from Bromsgrove to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool and onto Preston.
- Day 3. On Saturday 14 August they will cycle from Preston finishing at the Centre for Life in Newcastle.
The Duchenne Research Relay, which starts on Thursday 12 August, to fund research into treatments and cures for the muscle-wasting condition, is the latest challenge by Sam Taylor and his team. Overall, Sam, his wife Sue and their supporters have raised over £150,000 for MDUK.
Vicky said:
It’s an honour to raise money for such an amazing charity, but especially to help a very special family. We have amazing memories of the other challenges, the coast to coast triathlon was one of the most humbling experiences of my life and a real privilege to be part of. We are sporty but I'm no cyclist and I will be throwing my bike away after this!
She commented that the training has been tough.
Work and children mean we lack time to train properly. We really needed to be sitting on our bikes for much longer periods of time than what we have!
She added:
Personally, I am properly not looking forward to this! I'm scared and worried but everyone wants everyone to achieve and that's what makes it so special. It is hard to make people appreciate what we are doing and sponsor us, but the support is immense. Waiting for Will to pop up and cheer us on all over the place makes you keep going! I’ll just have to do my best and remember why I’m doing it. A bit of mental toughness will hopefully get me through.
You can follow the cycling sisters on Facebook and support them through their fundraising page.
Sam said:
This is a huge, huge challenge in anyone’s book. As with all of the fundraising we have done, we wouldn’t want to be sponsored for doing something easy! We take our inspiration from Will; his condition means that he finds physical activities incredibly difficult, but he is always really determined to be part of whatever is going on. He will be on the support team for the Duchenne Research Relay, making sure everyone is on-track, well fed, and entertained!
The research that is happening in the UK right now to find a treatment for Duchenne is at a critical stage, but it relies entirely on donations and fundraising. With this challenge, we want to raise awareness of the incredibly important work that is happening within the UK neuromuscular centres. The work that they are doing gives us, and other families living with Duchenne, real hope for the future.
Susanne Driffield, MDUK Regional Development Manager for the North of England and East Midlands said:
Vicky and Rachel taking on yet another epic challenge, totally out of their comfort zone. It demonstrates the amazing support the Where There’s a Will There’s a Way team have from their family friends and local community.