Davy Zyw: 500 miles in four days and £150,000 for MND charity

This summer 32-year-old Scot Davy Zyw rode the North Coast 500 for charity — 500 miles around the coast of Scotland — in four days. Good going, you might think. Add to that the amount he raised: £150,000 and still rising. For a non-celebrity, that's pretty astonishing. But there's more. Zyw has motor neurone disease.

Receiving the devastating diagnosis two years ago was the catalyst for this challenge, which he rode in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation. It's a charity set up by Scots former rugby player Doddie Weir after he was diagnosed with the condition three years ago, to aid awareness of and fund research into MND.

There is no cure for the condition, which claims the lives of 50 per cent of sufferers within two years, but Zyw has decided that whatever time he has, he'll make count double.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWVVl8F6U5k

You can still donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/mnd500

>> Read the full story in this week's magazine, on sale 17/12/2020 <<

The nominees

Robin Wainwright

Raised: £160,000

Charity: My Name'5 Doddie

Last February former Scottish rugby player Rob set off from Twickenham Stadium with a rugby ball strapped to his bike. Riding with 11 others in his core team (others joined them for parts of the route) he had 48 hours to get to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, 500 miles away, to deliver that ball for kick off in the Calcutta cup match between England and Scotland. Thanks to the generosity of 100s of people along the way, they made it and raised a huge amount of money.

Marcia Roberts

Raised: £12,000

Charity: Solent Mind

Not only did Marcia raise thousands for her local mental health charity, she set a world record on the way. She rode Lands End to John o Groats and back in 11.5 days, becoming the first woman to do so. She took on the challenge at the age of 54, and also made it her mission to encourage others, especially less active people, to get on their bikes.

Catherine Dixon & Rachel Marsden

Raised: £40,000

Charity: Oxfam and MNDA

25 countries, five continents over 18,000 miles..... There are lots of numbers coming out of Cat and Raz’s world record tandem ride. They set out to raise a pound a mile, and not only smashed through that they also smashed the men’s tandem round the world record. Their new record of 263 days, eight hours and seven minutes (starting and finishing in Oxford) was just quick enough to catch the second to last passenger ferry leaving France before lockdown.

Read the full story in this week's magazine, on sale 17/12/2020