Brighton & Hove Albion chairman Tony Bloom joined two incredible fundraisers on the last part of an epic cycle ride to raise money for the charity Overcoming MS.
Dr Jonny White is the charity’s medical advisor, and he completed an incredible journey of over 600 miles from Bushmills on the north coast of Northern Ireland to the Amex in ten days with his cousin Stuart.
Tony joined them on the last 16-mile leg from the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre in Lancing.
Jonny said, “A year ago I had the silly idea to try and cycle from my home town in Bushmills to Brighton and the reason is that I work for, and I live personally, the Overcoming MS Program.
“I was diagnosed with MS nine years ago and I wanted to prove to myself and to our community and, I suppose, the wider world that you can and should do things that are a little bit unusual and push yourself physically and mentally and do it for a really good cause to raise awareness and raise vital funds.
“I’ve had the great privilege of meeting many people with MS and the honour it is to serve them has kept me going. I asked my cousin Stuart Speers to come along and a year later, almost to the day, we unbelievably finished the ride.
“I started supporting Brighton about five years ago, after meeting Tony and learning the story of how he came from Brighton, loved the club as a child and his family connection and that great community connection from the city to the club.
“Having been to the Amex a few times I think the warm and welcoming family atmosphere is fantastic, and my two boys are now the biggest fans in Northern Ireland.”
Stuart said, “I've seen first-hand how Jonny has had this potentially devastating news. He’s not run away from it and has turned it into something positive and been hugely proactive with the charity.”
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Jonny added, “People living with MS can do an awful lot to improve their physical and their mental health by modifying relatively simple things in their lifestyle.
“MS is not a death sentence. A decade later, I certainly live a very full, happy, healthy life with my MS.”
Tony Bloom said, “My wife was diagnosed with MS over 20 years ago and fortunately she found out about the Overcoming MS Program to help people with MS. She’s been well for the past 18 years and it is very much down to the lifestyle approach. It’s been a Godsend to people around the world with MS and I’m delighted to help spread the message.”
Jonny is aiming to raise £20,000 – at the time of writing he has already raised just over an incredible £17,700 – for the Overcoming MS charity so that they can reach more people with MS and give them hope that living well with MS is possible.
To help them reach their target you can sponsor them here
If Jonny’s cycle has inspired you, you can take on your own fundraising challenge to support Overcoming MS this summer, as part of the 300 Challenge. Go to the Overcoming MS website here for more details.