11 August 2021 Fundraising
Fundraisers Stuart Bates and Charlotte Nichols have crossed the finishing line of their gruelling Olympic challenge, raising over £150,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.
The couple completed all 102 events featured in the Tokyo Olympics Games in just 17 days, finishing with the marathon in front of a packed crowd in Weymouth.
Stuart, a window cleaner, and Charlotte, a student doctor, were aiming to raise £10,000 in memory of Stuart’s brother, Spencer (Spenny), who died of MND ten years ago.
The pair spent around eight months meticulously planning how to achieve all 102 events in the short time frame, while squeezing long training hours around working full time. They also recruited around 60 current and former Olympic athletes to be ambassadors for the event with many taking time out of their Olympic preparations to help the couple learn the basics of their complex sports.
The Spennylympics hit the headlines locally, nationally and even internationally with appearances on TV screens in the USA, Japan, Russia and Ghana.
Stuart and Charlotte said:
“We are feeling a mixture of elated, proud of each other and totally exhausted! It was the perfect ending to finish in Weymouth where Spenny spent his whole life and to cross the finish line with a huge group of friends, family, well-wishers and world media was completely overwhelming. Completing 102 Olympic events in 17 days has been physically demanding and taken us to mental places that we didn’t know existed. To know that we have raised nearly £150,000 for the MND Association makes all of the pain worthwhile and the messages of support that we have received from those affected by MND throughout have driven us on when it felt impossible. We will continue raising awareness and money until a cure is found.”
Russell Spivey, Regional Fundraiser at the MND Association said:
“I have the honour of supporting many great fundraisers, branches and groups and I think Stuart and Charlotte capture the spirit of the whole MND Association with the Spennylympics. Every day in the UK, six people will receive the devastating news they have been diagnosed with MND. Stuart and Charlotte’s determination, passion and commitment to raise thousands for the MND Association will hopefully one day lead us to more effective treatments and a cure for this disease. Their fundraising is phenomenal and the awareness they have raised of MND on a global stage is immeasurable.”