Four sports friends are saddling up for their next fundraising challenge.

Raising funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Paul Sartori Foundation, Gareth Scotcher, Nicky Rees, Matthew Evans and Stephen Rogers will be pedalling from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

The challenge is the idea of motor neurone sufferer Gareth, of Tenby.

“This year, I have had MND for 12 years and although it’s robbed me of many things, walking, talking, eating and 1,000 other things, I’m a great believer in staying positive, and with a lot of hard work, determination and a bit of help, great things can still be achieved,” Gareth told us in an email.

“In 2013, I did the Long Course Weekend with Nicky Rees and last year I did 250 miles in five days on a recumbent trike set-up on a turbo trainer.

“This year, I plan to take on my biggest personal challenge to date, a 12-hour cycle marathon, on the same equipment as last year.

“On August 29, Matthew, Nicky, Stephen and I, are all doing 12 hours of pedalling. We hope to cover a combined distance of 810 miles, that is the shortest road distance between John O’Groats to Land’s End.

“An over-ambitious target for sure, but I like to set the goals high, if it was easy everyone could do it.

“I reckon I can cover 140 maybe 150 miles, so that leaves a lot for the other three to manage, but as seasoned endurance athletes, I’m sure they can cope. Earlier this year, they did Marathon de Sables, a 240km race in the Sahara desert so this will seem easy!”

Gareth continued: “I like to set myself a challenge, a bit selfish, but it gives me something to train for, to get motivated for and to keep fit. When I came up with this year’s idea, I mentioned it to Nicky and Matt hoping they would join me for an hour, but when the three of them came back to me saying they were keen to do it all, I, maybe foolishly, said we should try to do the length of Britain!

“Of course, I wouldn’t choose to have MND, it’s a pretty cruel disease, hard to explain, but a bit like being slowly bricked inside your own body, gradually losing the ability to do things you used to take for granted. I can handle how it effects me, but it’s more difficult to accept how it affects the people I love around me. Don’t get me wrong, I am not after sympathy, I still love my life, two fab, healthy and happy kids, great family, good friends and I’ve done many things that a lot of people could only dream of. Life is tough and not always fair, everyone has their own problems just that mine are more obvious.

“Challenge yourself and achieve everything!”

Added Nicky: “We are helping out to raise as much money as we can for the two good causes. It was all Gareth’s idea! Riding a turbo bike for 12 hours will be a good challenge for us, especially as it’s two weeks before Ironman Wales which Matt, Steve and myself are competing in.”

Anyone who would like to pledge sponsorship, can do so via the website www.justgiving.com/Gareth-Scotcher2/