Three siblings raised in Kendal, Cumbria, have completed the Ben Nevis Braveheart Triathlon, to raise over £1,500 for charity Parkinson’s UK.
Simon Horsley (55), Ralph Horsley (53) and Lorna Askew (50) took on the UK’s toughest triathlon on Saturday 14 October, in memory of their Dad, Richard Horsley who had Parkinson’s and passed away in December 2018. The siblings completed the event by each taking on a different part of the course. Ralph swum 1.2 miles in the Loch Linne, Simon cycled 58 miles and Lorna ran 13 miles up a hill to the summit of Ben Nevis and back.
Their dad Richard was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after their mum passed away and lived on his own for a few years. He received support from the local Parkinson’s UK group who encouraged him to attend events and participate in social activities.
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition for which there is currently no cure and it affects 145,000 people in the UK, including 15,256 in the North West.
Lorna said: “We said at Dad’s funeral that we were going to do this triathlon in his memory and to fundraise for Parkinson’s UK. The triathlon went brilliantly as we were the first team to finish and won the trophy! It was a great affirmation of being siblings, which our parents would have been delighted about.
“Dad was polite, courteous and thoughtful of others until his last days. Parkinson’s took away his mobility, speech, ability to write, dress himself and eat. Amazingly, he retained dignity, tolerance and love for others. Dad had many adventures himself in Scotland, so it was only fitting that we have a sibling adventure on his behalf in Scotland. We want to thank everyone for helping us to raise money for Parkinson’s UK, a charity that Dad donated to, to find better treatments and a cure for the condition.”
Katherine Bartrop, Head of Regional Fundraising at Parkinson’s UK, said: “Nobody should have to face Parkinson’s alone – or without hope that one day we’ll find better treatments and a cure.
“Now thanks to the money raised by Ralph, Lorna and Simon, we’ll be able to support more people when they need us most and invest in research that will one day bring an end to Parkinson’s.
“We are so grateful for this support and want to say a huge thank you for taking part.”
To sponsor Lorna, Simon and Ralph visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lorna-askew
