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The sight of a small sign jutting out from an empty beach will never before have meant as much to eleven intrepid cyclists as it did when the Life Cycle team from The University of Nottingham, reached Land’s End last week.
That sign marked the successful completion of a 1,000 mile bike ride which started at John o’Groats and raised over £200,000 for the Sue Ryder Centre for the Study of Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care, based at the University.
As detailed in Vice-Chancellor Professor David Greenaway’s blog — http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/lifecycle — along the way the team battled strong head winds, steep climbs, punctures and the odd fall, but still managed to complete the journey in just 13 days.
After reaching Land’s End, Professor Greenaway said: “So, it is all over. After months of training and preparation and two weeks on the road, we have ridden from John o’Groats to Land’s End, a final 57 miles today making 1,030 miles in total. Eleven riders started and all eleven finished.”
Referring to the journey — both the personal challenge and the opportunity to marvel at Britain’s landscape — as the experience of a lifetime, Professor Greenaway explained it was made all the more special for being shared with such a wonderful group of people.
“I owe the other 10 riders and four Support Team members a great debt of gratitude for the very real sacrifices they have made in taking this on and for being such wonderful companions over this past two weeks.
“Thank you to our sponsors [Freeth Cartwright LLP and the University Partnerships Programme] and everyone who has supported us. I heard yesterday evening that we have passed our target of £200,000 for research on palliative and end of life care, and support is still coming in. This will make a big difference to the work of the Sue Ryder Centre,” he concluded.
The money raised will now be handed over to Professor Jane Seymour and her team at the Sue Ryder Centre, who will use it to continue their world-leading research into improving the treatment of those at the end of life.
Professor Seymour explained the importance of the donation at the end of two community rides, which took place half way through Life Cycle. More than 400 people attended the event at Sutton Bonington Campus to show their appreciation for the team, adding over £10,000 to the fundraising total.
At that event, Professor Seymour told the audience: “Even though this country leads the way in palliative care, there are still people here as well as abroad that do not receive the best possible support at the end of their lives. The money raised through Life Cycle will go towards providing better education in this vital area of research. We want even more PhD students from across the world to come and study at the Centre and become leaders in the field in their home countries.”
The rides two main sponsors, Freeth Cartwright LLP and the University Partnerships Programme (UPP), were also delighted with the team’s achievement and were quick to congratulate them.
Kate Rudd, Client Services Manager at Freeth Cartwright LLP, said: “We have been very proud to sponsor the Life Cycle. It is the perfect opportunity for Freeth Cartwright to support the world class research work that is carried out by the University and to help important charities with which we have not been involved before.
“The ride has been an immense personal challenge for the individual riders; they have achieved their goal in a magnificent time. As always in our work with the University, we have been impressed by the way that the initial idea has — with some vision and much hard work — been turned into reality. We congratulate all those involved in this fantastic event.”
Sean O’Shea, Chief Executive of UPP, said: “UPP were delighted to sponsor this impressive fundraising effort, and we would like to congratulate the team on this fantastic achievement. UPP are dedicated to investing in the communities in which we work, and as part of our continued relationship with The University of Nottingham, we were very pleased to support this great cause.”
— Ends —
Pictures are available on request from
harry.waddle@nottingham.ac.uk / 0115 823 2353
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www.twitter.com/UoNPressOffice Notes to editors: Please see the full list of Life Cycle riders below:
• Professor David Greenaway — Vice-Chancellor
• Professor Karen Cox — Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Environment, Infrastructure and Information Services
• Professor Alan Ford — Dean of the Faculty of Arts
• Mr Chris Jagger — Chief Estates and Facilities Officer
• Professor Nick Miles — Provost and CEO, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
• Dr Andrew Noyes — Professor of Education
• Mrs Kate Robertson — Director of Development and Alumni Relations
• Professor Chris Rudd — Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Business Engagement and Knowledge Transfer
• Professor David Walker — Professor of Paediatric Oncology
• Mr Steve Wright — University Driver
• Professor Neville Wylie — Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
More information about the Sue Ryder Care Centre for the Study of Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care can be found at:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/NMP/Research/SPC/index.aspx The Centre led by Professors Jane Seymour and Karen Cox has a special collaborative relationship with the charity Sue Ryder Care, and is pleased to be able to share the name of this key provider of palliative and neurological care. For more information about the charity, please visit
www.suerydercare.org Freeth Cartwright LLP: A spokesman for the company said: “We have been a key partner of the University now for over 15 years and want to support this event to demonstrate our commitment to them and their team who are an inspiration. It’s also underlines our commitment to our work in the Education Sector and the importance of putting something back into the community.”
www.freethcartwright.co.uk University Partnerships Programme (UPP): A spokesperson said: “UPP is delighted to be able to sponsor this laudable fundraising effort and hope the money the team have raised will give them the inspiration to overcome the challenges that they will face along the route. As soon as we found out about the fantastic cause, UPP were delighted to contribute as a mark of our continued relationship with The University of Nottingham.”
www.upp-ltd.com The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.
More news from the University at:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/news