When city accountant, fitness instructor and successful nutritional therapist Alex Gibson received a diagnosis for motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019 at the age of 39, the news came as a huge blow. Alex had always been fit, active and healthy, and spent his free time conquering the world of sport. He played rugby to national level 1 for three clubs and was always heavily involved in athletics, having competed for Great Britain in the decathlon and ranking in the top 10 globally for Concept 2 Rowing.
With no family history of MND, he had started to notice symptoms around two years prior to his diagnosis, deteriorating speech, cramps, foot drop and increased spasticity were among his first symptoms, and Alex strongly believes that the onset was down to “athletes curse”, the thinking that huge amounts of intense exercise can contribute to MND.
Alex said: “It was incredibly hard work – and still is – but moving to the final stages of the grief cycle (shock, denial, anger, grief, depression and acceptance) was truly key to moving forward”.
His sheer determination not to simply give up – but instead to leave a legacy he and his family (wife, Cheryl and children Max, 11, and Elysia, 9) would be proud of – led Alex to establish a charity, Challenging MND, with a clear mission: to ensure those diagnosed with the disease can create lifelong memories for themselves and their families.
Challenging MND has granted over £200k (including a grant to the MNDA) and directly supported 96 families.
Liane Iles, CEO of Challenging MND, said: “We’re in awe of Alex and his outlook on life. He’s a true philanthropist and has dedicated his final years to ensuring MND Warriors feel empowered, supported and seen. He sets the bar and inspires his close knit CMND support team to drive for the most incredible goals.
"Alex ensures that the charity listens to the MND community’s needs and then aligns its support accordingly. The changes to our Constitution in the last year have reflected that voice by adding support to maintain family carers’ well-being through respite and implementing a cutting edge Virtual Reality offer for those individuals living with the disease who are bed bound”.
The prognosis for someone living with MND is on average 27 months, and Alex has already defied the odds simply by surviving.
On a mission to empower each and every person with the condition, Alex set out to complete a series of challenges that would be considered incredible for someone without MND, and truly remarkable for someone in his condition. Over the last few years, he has lost a lot of weight, his speech has become more slurred, and his mobility & balance badly compromised, but alongside this he has:
Walked The Essex Way, approx 102 miles in one weekend
Cycled between the Three peaks of the UK (460 miles) and walked to the top of each summit
Lifted 1 million kilograms in a 24 hour period
Broke two Guinness World Records as he pedalled the length of the Thames (125 miles) in a 4 man pedalo… before repeating the event again his World Record was broken
A double marathon
Cycling the length of the Outer Hebrides (186 miles) on a tandem bike in 23 hours – also a record
Climbing to the height of Everest (8,800 m) up the iconic Cheesegrater building in London – a total of 52 floors x 47 ascents taking 53 hours
Over the coming months, you’ll be able to see him in action in a 24 hour endurance cycle (with tandem partner and ex-England rugby union player Andy Long) and in December a 24 hour endurance swim.
Alex would like Challenging MND to have reached a turnover of £5million and to have become a household recognised brand in the next five years to allow the charity to continue to be a unique, innovative, responsive and sustainable organisation that supports the MND community the way they truly wish to be supported.
You can follow his journey on social media, share messages of support via Instagram Stories, and you can also donate to his cause, either directly or by taking part in an incredible auction the charity will be running over the coming months: https://bidaid.com/auction/mnd
