'Never Say Die' Les Roberts (April 2011)
Les Roberts, has been a racing cyclist, athlete and then archer in his life but unfortunetly, 17 years ago, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease but that has not stopped him from, firstly fighting the disease and secondly raising money for the CURE PARKINSON'S TRUST with new challenges.
He was a European Veteran Champion (Brighton in 1984 over 5k in 14:53.6 but ran in the 14:20's in the British League for Blackheath.. He was also a World Veteran distance running Champion over 10,000 in the 1980's.) He also became a Presdient of his club Blackheath Harriers & Bromley Ladies. Here he tells Alastair Aitken about his new challenges, despite having to take pills eleven times a day!
Les Roberts " In 2008 I rode my bike from Land's end to John O'Groats in aid of the Cure Parkinson's Trust. This raised £14,000 for the Trust, which, true to the name of its subsidiary company "Movers & Shakers", has managed to persuade the Parkinson's community to focus on the need for clearly defined goals that reflect patients' desires and expectations. You will not be surprised to hear that a cure is at the top of the wish list.
The money donated in 2008 was gratefully received and was spent very effectively. The search for a cure is becoming evermore intense; there are a number of research projects currently well into the final trial stage and there are other very promising lines of research in the pipeline.
Apparently, more has been learnt about Parkinson's over the past 2 years than during the previous 40. All the specialists I have met recently seem genuinely excited about the prospect of finding a cure very soon. This momentum must be sustained."
His Challenge in June 2011
" All this is why I shall be taking to the saddle again this June and joining 5 other (fool-?) hardy gents to ride the longest self-propelled journey of our lives from Lizard Head in Cornwall, the southern-most point of GB, to as far north as you can go on the mainland, Dunnet Head. Then we will pedal back down to the Mull of Kintyre where we will take a chartered boat across to Northern Ireland ready to ride from the two extreme points there, going from Malin Head down the full length of Ireland to Mizen Head in the south. Finally, after a sea crossing to Swansea, it's back to London to finish what the team has imaginatively named "The Challenge". We will have covered 2000 miles over 28 days; I suspect I will feel I have aged much more than that by the time we reach the Mall."