Renfrewshire Man Runs 500 Miles to Support People Affected by MND

Greg Lee, 34, from Renfrewshire, has raised over £15,000 to support people affected by motor neuron disease (MND) after completing the ambitious challenge of running 500 miles.

Starting on October 3^rd, 2020, with the 62-mile Arran Coastal Trail, Greg ran six of Scotland’s long-distance walks, running as far as 92 miles at a time, before finishing by running the distance of the Cumbrae Cycle event on October 2^nd, 2022.

The inspiration behind Greg’s challenge came from his wife, Jess’ grandma, Mary McKee, who throughout her lifetime, has sadly had twelve members of her family diagnosed with MND.

For the past thirty years, Mary has played a significant role in the MND community, as the organiser of the Cumbrae Cycle, an annual event which has raised several hundred thousand pounds for people affected by MND as well as formally serving as the treasurer of the Ayrshire branch of MND Scotland.

Speaking on his connection to MND, Greg said: “Prior to meeting my wife’s family, I didn’t really know anything about MND and the devastating affect it has on the individual person or those close to them.

“When I started to meet people affected by MND, I began to learn more about the disease and I realised just how fortunate I am to be healthy and to never have needed the support of a charity. It became clear to me that people with MND get no downtime and I felt I had to do something to help.”

MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This can cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided and the average life expectancy is just 18 months from diagnosis.

Although an active person and keen runner, Greg knew that attempting to run 500 miles would push him to his very limit.

Greg continued: “I knew the challenge would be difficult and to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I could do it but that’s nothing compared to what people diagnosed with MND have to deal with on a daily basis.”

To prepare for the challenge, Greg enlisted the expertise of fitness coach, Casey Morgan along with friends and family, who provided help and support throughout the two year period.

He said: “My coach, Casey, provided me a training schedule which consisted of a strength and conditioning plan on top of a six day a week running regime, which included seven hour runs on Saturdays and Sundays.

“The training itself made the size of the commitment I’d signed up for very real but thanks to Casey, along with Alan and Fraser Brown, David Hatfield, Hannah Mckee, Callum Edenborough and Jamie McKee, who all helped immensely during both my training and the events.

“I would like to say an extra special thank you to David McKee, who I couldn’t have done this without. David came to every event with me and was at every starting point. He was my support car, carried my clothes, helped me with sorting out accommodation and so much more! All of which was an amazing help and allowed me to focus on the challenge ahead.”

Being an experienced long-distance runner, Greg is familiar with the feeling of wanting to give up when cold and hungry, 65 miles into a run but with donations coming in and the thought of people living with MND in his mind, Greg found the ‘why’ he needed to keep going during the difficult moments.

“My original goal was to raise £3,000 but once I put the Just Giving page up, I couldn’t believe the response.

“Seeing the donations come in, the support of everyone around me and remembering what people living with MND have to deal really was a lamp in the dark during the difficult times and I knew that no matter what, I couldn’t give up!”

Although admittedly a difficult challenge, Greg is keen to encourage everyone who can to take on an event of their own for people affected by MND.

He said: “I think everyone should do something like this at least once in their life!

‘If I can do it, then so can you and I think everyone should experience the feeling of overcoming a difficult challenge and push themselves to make a difference.”

Congratulating Greg on his achievement, MND Scotland CEO, Rachel Maitland said: ‘On behalf of everyone at MND Scotland, I’d like to say a massive congratulations and thank you to Greg on completing an undoubtedly difficult challenge and for raising such an incredible amount.

‘Thanks to the amazing efforts of people like Greg, we are able to act as a helping hand of support for people affected by MND, so they can make the time they have left count with the ones they love.

You can still support Greg’s incredible effort by making a donation here and for more ways to support the work of MND Scotland, please visit here.