Edinburgh students in a race against time for MND

Sara and Audrey will be taking part in Race2Prague, organised by Edinburgh Students’ Charities Appeal (ESCA). The duo will depart from Edinburgh on 15th February and are tasked with reaching their destination, Prague, by 18th February – without spending any money.

In the run up to the event the friends, also known as the ‘Blizzard Ponies’, will be raising funds for charity MND Scotland, inspired by their friend who is currently living with MND.

The pair’s friend, Ruth Porter, a retired Speech and Language Therapist living in Edinburgh, was diagnosed with MND in September 2014. Now Ruth is losing her speech and has difficulty with balance, and Audrey and Sara often help her with shopping and accompany her on walks.

Sara said, “We had the opportunity to bond with Ruth during the walks. Her positive take on life is very inspiring and she is the reason why we chose to support MND Scotland. We’d never really heard of MND before meeting Ruth and we hope our fundraising will help all the research currently happening in Scotland to find a cure for this disease.”

Audrey, from Singapore, is currently doing a Master’s degree in Art and Sara, from Portugal, has just finished a Master’s in Linguistics. The students met three years ago through a university society practising a martial art called Capoeira and quickly became close friends, sharing a sense of adventure.

Audrey said, “We both enjoy going to new places and trying out different things, so this challenge is right up our alley. I had seen several initiatives through Edinburgh RAG and had always thought about doing something.

“This year when I saw Race2Prague I thought it would be fun for Sara and I to do together, so I invited her along to the information session.”

Sara was initially reluctant, however Audrey managed to convince her. Having a cause they are passionate about was extra motivation.

Talking about the race and their preparations, Sara said “Now that it’s coming around we are both excited and nervous. Our plan is to make ourselves stand out and hope we can drive people to help us (pun intended). We will be wearing matching rainbow unicorn onesies and will hold flashy banners. I’m not sure how quickly we’ll get there, but I’m confident we’ll make it.”

Audrey added, “We’re also going to be selling ice-cream around the University of Edinburgh campus to try and raise more money.”

Iain McWhirter, head of fundraising at MND Scotland, said “This is a fantastic event for Sara and Audrey to be taking part in and will certainly be a challenge. All the money raised will go towards helping us continue to support people like Ruth, who are affected by MND in Scotland. We provide practical, financial and emotional support, and fund research towards a cure, which we couldn’t do without fundraisers like Audrey and Sara. From everyone at MND Scotland, we wish the ‘Blizzard Ponies’ the best of luck and can’t wait to hear how they get on.”

To donate to Sara and Audrey’s fundraising click here.