Inspired by two of the most inspirational people I have met. My dad Ian Main, who passed away when I was 11 years old at the age of 38 and 31 year old Alem Mumuni, Ghana’s first ever Paralympic Cyclist. Two of life's most humble and compassionate people with a determination to always do their best and an incredible passion for cycling.
I need to raise £2500 to get Alem to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games by June 12th 2016
What am I doing?
- I have signed up to the L’Etape on 10th July 2016 which is a stage of the famous Tour de France and my dad’s favorite cycling event on earth! I however I have never done a cycle race in my life and commute for leisure, so this will probably be the hardest thing I will ever do.
- The race is 146km in one day starting in Megeve and finishing in Morzine. I will be faced with 4 big mountain climbs, totaling 3335m. Even writing about it makes me nervous! Last year only 5% of the entries were women and 1,000’s of people didn’t finish.
The story behind the ride
In 2012 at the age of 23 I accepted a role in Ghana to coach Alem Mumuni for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Alem has poliomyelitis in one leg and rides his bike using his good leg. Against all odds and no funding, Alem qualified for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Devastatingly, Alem contracted chicken pox in the village and was unable to compete in this time trial and road race.-
In 2013 Alem was ranked 2nd in
the world for C2 Paracycling. His talent is endless but with little or
no support from Ghana he is pretty much on his own.
-
To date, we have raised over
£10,217. This has enabled Alem to compete in 3 international
competitions in Spain, California and South Africa where he scored vital
points to achieve a world ranking.
-
Alem is now ranked 27th in the world.
Alem now has the opportunity compete for Ghana’s first ever Paralympic medal!
What's my goal and what is the money going to be spent on?
We have partnered with the high performance training centre, Tenerife Top Training (T3), and their UK agents, TTT Sports Ltd, who organise athletic training camps. Alem will be able to gain the benefits of training at altitude, where the likes of superstars Bradley Wiggens and the Sky team train. T3 and TTT Sports have arranged an incredible deal which provides- 3 months all inclusive full board and training for just £780. Flights and visa for Alem are estimated to be £1600. I am looking to raise in total £2500 to cover the camp, flights and visa.
- All money donated will be going directly to get Alem2Rio campaign.
What if I succeed my target?
Any excess funds raised will be put good to use at our charity The
Alem Foundation. This was originally set up by Alem and myself to
support underprivileged children in Ghana.To date we have delivered:
- Education Scholarships to 33 children. Funds give them full primary education and healthcare.
- Clean drinking water to over 70 families. Supplied each family with water purifying filters guaranteeing sustainable fresh drinking water.
- Funded life changing surgery for two disabled children.
Important to note we are soon going to a fully registered charity so all donations with be entitled to gift aid soon. Furthermore, we are very interested in speaking to corporate donors who are interested in supporting Alem Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment