Congratulations to the awesome Andy Peterson who reached the finish line of the the legendary 4,000 kilometre Transcontinental Race (TCR) across Europe in just 15 days. 

The TCR is an ultra-distance endurance race from Roubaix in northern France to Istanbul.  For this ultra-distance endurance route Andy navigated his own route via four Race checkpoints in Slovenia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Turkey.  

Andy cycled more than 4,300 km (2,745 miles) and climbed over 45,000m in just 15 days. In his mid-50s, he was the oldest person to finish this self-called "madness," finishing in 103rd place out of more than 300 starters of this Race, which fewer than 1,000 people have completed in its 10-year history. To achieve this Andy allowed himself only a few hours of sleep a night over the two weeks, as he raced to reach the finish line.    

As well as enduring these extraordinarily long days, Andy managed the pain of a sore knee (exacerbated by gravel roads), and endured some of Europe's most extreme summer heat, with temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees.  

Why?  To raise awareness and funds to cure colon cancer in memory of Tom Smith

 

Andy is aiming to raise £50,000 to help 40tude fund the Tom Smith Research Fellowship, a dedicated post based at St. Mark's Hospital that was established in memory of Tom following Andy's epic cycle ride around the UK in 2022.  This research programme is focused on investigating the genetics of hereditary colon cancer.

"Tom Smith was a Scottish rugby and British & Irish Lions hero," explains Andy. "My own father was a hero to me. Both Tom and my dad died from colon cancer. They both ignored the initial signs of the cancer and by the time they were diagnosed, it was too late. This matters to everyone as colon cancer is the UK's biggest cancer killer of non-smokers. "

Colon cancer can be treated if it is detected early. The really good news is that this cancer is also preventable through regular screening.  Have you been screened for colon cancer?  Learn more about the screening options here

Thank you for your support

Thank you to everyone who has made a donation on Andy's fundraising page for 40tude, your support is hugely appreciated.  If you'd like to congratulate Andy on his incredible achievement please click here

 Making a donation to 40tude

Getting screened for colon cancer

Please do share this with as many people as possible, to make others aware of Andy's huge endeavour and the importance of getting screened for colon cancer.  It could save a life.