Surrey schoolboy cycles miles for charity

A caring student from Glyn School in Ewell has raised more than £1,500 for charity, after cycling from London to Brighton.

William McAneny, in Year 9, embarked on the epic 54-mile bike ride to raise money for a charity for Parkinson’s Disease, a condition suffered by a family member.

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“My dad’s Uncle Kenny was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few years ago, and is sadly getting worse, so I wanted to raise money to help fund more treatment to help fight the disease,” said the 14-year-old, who lives in Stoneleigh, near Epsom.

“The ride was 54 miles, and it was very difficult, but I pushed through, and I finished without getting off my bike.”

William was joined on the challenge by his father, Richard McAneny, and the two completed the route from Clapham Common to Brighton seafront in five-and-a-half hours.

“I did a lot of preparation and training with my dad for the event, from about three months before, including rides up Boxhill and Epsom Downs,” he continued. “All of our training involved hills. I also go out on my bike at least once a week anyway.

“The highs of the journey were getting to the top of Ditchling Beacon and finishing the ride with my dad, and the lows were cycling up Ditchling Beacon and the other tough hills – I had to stop and wait for my dad to catch up a few times!”

William’s mum, Jo McAneny, also supported her son in his venture, setting up a Just Giving web page and sharing details of the fundraiser on social media, as well as telling Glyn School, a member of the GLF Multi-Academies Trust.

“My family helped with the sponsorship and donations, and my mum and brother supported us on the day, saw us finish, and collected us from Brighton,” added William.

“Mum also told Glyn about it, and they shared it on their website and in the school newsletter. Also my form tutor helped my form raise money together for me.”

All the hard work paid off, with William raising an impressive total of £1,566 – far surpassing his original target of £200 to £500.

Mrs McAneny said: “Kenny was very touched and also very supportive, sending messages to William before the event, and then sending a thank you card to him afterwards.”

“I felt very happy with my achievements and very proud,” concluded William, who celebrated the end of the ride with a burger. “I am also hoping to do London to Brighton next year as well.”