C'est difficile! Shrewsbury's cyclist's epic French challenge in memory of mum
An endurance cyclist is getting in the saddle for an epic 760-mile ride in memory of his mother who suffered at the hands of a cruel disease.
Mark Hammond has qualified for the gruelling Paris-Brest-Paris – believed to be the oldest cycling race in the world – on August 20, and will be riding for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The 45-year-old fitness fanatic chose the charity after losing his mum Val to the debilitating condition which afflicted the late Professor Stephen Hawking and former Rangers footballer Fernando Ricksen. Retired rugby league star Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with MND is 2019, has brought the condition into the spotlight again with his fundraising and media appearances.
Mark, from Radbrook, Shrewsbury, said: "It's a really important cause. Not as many people know about it so it doesn't get the support that some charities get. But anything that can be done to help people with it and maybe find a cure one day, it all helps."
Val had always been active, living healthily and running at 10km events. But in 2019 she started losing some of the use in her right hand and by early 2020, when the Covid pandemic kicked in, she was really struggling.
