Kenny Logan vows to ‘keep going’ until MND cure found ahead of cycle challenge

Scottish rugby great Kenny Logan has pledged to “keep going” until a cure for motor neurone disease (MND) is found, as he prepares to lead a 555-mile fundraising cycle challenge in memory of former teammate Doddie Weir.

Doddie’s Lions Challenge will see Logan joined by Weir’s son Hamish and more than 50 celebrities and ex-players as they aim to raise more than £500,000 for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Weir set up the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation in 2017, the year after he was diagnosed with MND. He died of the condition aged 52 in 2022.

Among the famous names set to take part in the ride are former Scotland football international Ally McCoist, broadcaster and Kenny Logan’s wife Gabby Logan, and Battlestar Galactica actor Jamie Bamber.

The week-long endurance challenge, which is inspired by the British and Irish Lions tour later this year, will see the team cycle approximately 100 miles a day across the rugged terrain of some of Ireland’s rugby heartlands.

Stops along the way will include “origin” clubs of famous Irish Lions players, and the challenge will end at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on June 20 where the team will deliver the match ball ahead of Ireland’s match against Argentina.

The event will be Logan’s second major fundraiser for MND research, following 2023’s Rugby World Cup Challenge from Edinburgh to Paris, which combined cycling and walking and raised almost £1 million for MND research.

“We’re not walking this time – I hated that part,” Logan said.

“We’re doing it to raise money, yes – but more than that, we’re doing it to give hope to people living with MND. Hope that we’re getting closer to a cure.

“Since Doddie died, awareness has grown massively but fundraising remains pivotal to maintain momentum.

“The foundation has now committed nearly £20m to MND research – which is fantastic, but it’s only the beginning.

“Doddie would be proud – but he’d also be telling us to go further, faster.

“Until there’s a cure, we keep going. That’s what he would want, and it’s what we owe him.”

Logan compared the camaraderie of the cycling challenge to that of a Lions tour, in which players from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England are thrown together for matches against some of the world’s best teams.

Recalling a particularly poignant moment from the 2023 ride, Logan said: “We came down a hill in France, above the clouds, and this yellow and blue balloon just appeared out of nowhere.

“I thought someone had arranged it – they hadn’t. It was one of those moments where you felt like Doddie was with us.

Preparations are under way for Doddie’s Lions Challenge in Ireland. PA Media

“It’s about hardship, yes, but more than that it’s about the people.

“We started as strangers, but by the end we were teammates. That’s what the Lions are all about – and it’s what Doddie was all about too.”

Paul Thompson, director of fundraising at My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, said they were “immensely proud” to have committed almost £20 million to MND research.

However, he said there is “still a long way to go” and that the only way they can invest more is through fundraising.

“Kenny’s drive and his ability to bring people together – from all corners of the MND community and beyond – is incredible,” he added.

“The money raised by this challenge will make a real difference in our pursuit of effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for MND. We’d love everybody to get behind it.”

Earlier this year, the foundation made its biggest single investment to date when it committed £4m to four pioneering MND research projects as part of its Catalysing A Cure strategy, which aims to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.

To support Doddie’s Lions Challenge or find out more visit myname5doddie.co.uk/