An ever-expanding team of sportsmen and women on Arran are taking part in the Doddie Aid fundraiser for the fourth year in a row.
Doddie Aid is a virtual mass-participation exercise event founded by former Scotland rugby captain Rob Wainwright that lasts for five weeks starting on new year’s day.
The event raises funds for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation which invests in research to find meaningful treatments for motor neurone disease (MND).
Participants join the group then log their miles to take part. Any exercise counts, with the winning district being the one with the most miles at the end of the event.
The Arran Belles originally became involved with Doddie Aid after one of their own, Sue Berry, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. To begin with, within the district, they had one league, mainly cyclists called Awesome Arran.
Interest and competitiveness grew and Arran now has more than 90 supporters in seven leagues: Arran Cyclists, Arran Walkers, Arran Golfers, Arran Runners, Arran Swimmers, Arran Watersports and Arran Skiers.
As well as being a MND fundraiser, the event encourages participants to keep motivated and to keep active during the winter. Although just two weeks into the challenge, Arran people are already logging phenomenal statistics: the top cyclist has logged 540 miles, the top walker 126 miles, and the top golfer 82 miles.
Arran Belle Janice Small said: “Even if just a few miles or many, my thanks go to everyone taking part. You are all wonderful in helping to fund research into finding a cure for motor neurone disease.”
Over the last three years, Doddie Aid has seen almost 80,000 participants cover eight million miles and has raised more than £4m for the foundation.
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