An Ayrshire businessman is preparing to embark on a mammoth fundraising challenge in honour of his older brother who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND).
Adrian Murphy, from Ayr, will take on a series of fundraisers as he aims to raise £40,000 for charity MND Scotland.
Adrian, 40, is the CEO of financial planning business Murphy Wealth and chairman of MND Scotland.
He will be taking on five gruelling events, the pinnacle being a seven-day monster triathlon (June 26 to July 2), which starts with a five-kilometre swim in Loch Ness, followed by 1,000km of cycling across five days and finishes with an ultra-marathon (50km) along the River Thames in London.
Adrian will also be tackling the Loch Ness Etape, Etape Caledonia, Edinburgh Marathon and an Ironman in Cork, Ireland.
Adrian and Brian, 49, are brothers in the close-knit Murphy clan – made up of seven siblings and two parents – who were left shocked and devastated by Brian’s diagnosis in February 2019.
MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided.
Adrian said: “I’m actually doing five events this year but the monster triathlon is really the one that is going to put my endurance, both physically and mentally, to the test.
“I also want to raise a significant amount of money, so it needed to be something big, that was going be painful and push me, to make people donate. It seemed fitting to set my target to £40,000 to mark MND Scotland’s 40th anniversary and my own 40th.
“Everyone else thinks I’m mad for taking on all these events, but Brian thinks it’s great.”
Brian said: “I am really proud of my brother for the way he has responded to my illness, and put so much time, energy and expertise into working for MND Scotland where he has made a real difference.
"I am incredibly moved by the magnitude of the challenges he is taking on and that my illness has inspired him to attempt to raise this huge sum of money which will help improve the lives of people affected by MND.”
You can support Adrian’s fundraising for MND Scotland by donating here https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/adrian-murphymndmonsterchallenge
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