Pals’ epic cross-border cycle raises £2,700

Chris Scougal and his two pals crossed borders to cycle 167 Miles from Glasgow to Sunderland and raised an incredible £2,700 for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.

The trio had hoped to use a triplet – a multi-person bike – for the cycle into England. Let down at the last minute by the bike, the threesome climbed on their own bikes to do the journey anyway.

When Chris and his two pals got together to train for different charity events, they quickly decided to join forces and set their sights on something more spectacular. 

Chris, 35, of East Kilbride, was training for the London Marathon when he and chums Harry Kerr, 42, of Clydebank, and Steven Whitelaw, 35, of Airdrie, decided to team up for a joint fundraising effort.

An epic challenge

Chris said: “I had told them I planned to do a charity bike ride to Sunderland, then Steven suggested we do something bigger.

“Within a day we’d come up with this idea of all three of us cycling. I wanted to go to Sunderland because my sister Leanne lives there, and I hadn’t seen her or her family for more than a year.”

Chris Scougal (centre) was joined by pals Steven Whitelaw (left) and Harry Kerr (right) on his epic cycling challenge.

Funeral arranger Chris is a long-standing fundraiser for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, having taken part in a number of events for the charity over the years, including the London Marathon.  

He was inspired to do charity events after finding receipts for donations to Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland in his late dad Charlie’s paperwork. Charlie was just 54 when he died of a heart attack.

Remembering Dad

Chris had been diagnosed with an ectopic heartbeat after his dad’s death before he himself suffered a mild heart attack in January 2021.

This convinced Chris he needed to do something drastic to stay fit and focused, so he quit smoking and set his sights on his cycle challenge.

Chris says: “Obviously raising money for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is important.  I only found out after dad had died that he’d been donating to the charity. He’d had a stroke a year before that he never told any of us about, and giving money to Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland was his way of saying thanks for helping him.

“But I’ve got another goal in mind, too. After what happened to me in January, I really want to promote the awareness of heart health for people. I want people to realise it’s not just the elderly or unfit people who can be affected by a heart attack.

“I’m 35 and relatively fit and healthy. If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. Heart health is so important.

“I’ve also realised I only have one life so I have to do everything I possibly can. I don’t want to be left with any regrets.

The trio aimed to raise £1,600 for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, but the final total was a fabulous £2,700.

If you fancy taking on your own challenge to raise money to help people across Scotland live their lives to the full, please visit chss.org.uk/fundraising