Tony Wimpenny is about to do the stuff that dreams are made of. Your very wildest dreams.
This Saturday (9th September), he will fly out to East Africa to climb the continent’s highest mountain to show support for a close friend who has been stuck in bed with M.E. for the past few years.
Will the 43-year-old gas supply-side entrepreneur be walking up Mount Kilimanjaro in the time-honoured style of most adventurers? No. Hell no!
For Tony, together with younger brother Ian (41), will be joining an Erik’s Adventure Company expedition aiming to RUN a full marathon up and down the 19,341ft mountain. And, in the process, he'll be raising money for the ME Association.
“In most marathons, they hand out food and water to help keep the runners going. In this one, they will be handing out food, water and oxygen!”, commented Tony.
Tony spoke to us last week – the day after he had proposed to girlfriend Laura Williams, asking her to marry him. The couple had completed the Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle ride for the MEA last August.
“Amazingly, Laura said ‘yes’ – but she’d already declined to join Ian and me in the Kilimanjaro Marathon’, said Tony, who lives in Hampshire.
Pictured last year at the end of their Land's End to John O'Groat's cycle ride, Tony and his fiancée, Laura Williams
The superfit brothers – The Marios come to mind – hope to blaze a trail up the mountain over the weekend of the 15th and 16th September that will be remembered for a long time.
And they’re doing it for Laura’s friend from college days, who is now very sick with M.E.
Last year, Laura explained all:
“My friend and I were part of a very sporty circle of friends from university. She was very go-ahead, full of life and most energetic. She became ill last year and got progressively worse. When she was finally diagnosed with the illness, we and many other friends had never heard of M.E.
“She became bedridden, and her partner had to quit her job to look after her. She has had to become quite an expert in the illness, to see what’s out there, what research there is that can help her. That’s because they’ve struggled to find the right medical support in their part of Wales.”
If you would like to show your support of Tony and Ian as they run up their East African mountain, please click on the following link:
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Consultant, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
