Ex-Melrose crew delighted with coast to coast quest for Doddie

Scott Wight Allan Dodds, Barbara Shiel, Steven Shiel, Mathew Wilkie, Wayne Mitchell, Jamie Murray and

Rory Murray completed a 24-hour coast-to-coast challenge in aid of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the charity founded by ex-Greenyards rugby legend Doddie Weir after his 2016 diagnosis with motor neurone disease (MND).

The group started at Portpatrick on the west coast and finished at Cove on the east, taking in the start and finish points of the Southern Upland Way as well as other parts of the walking route, while also featuring some cycling, running and kayaking.

It was expected over £30,000 would be raised once all the money was counted and Scott Wight, head coach at Selkirk RFC, said the way everything had come together on the day was “brilliant”. Several months of preparation had culminated in a tremendous following through the day, plus excellent coverage by local and national media.

"We did not get a single puncture all day, while stopping in at Doddie's house on the walk was pretty special,” said Scott. “It was all pretty humbling. ”

He added Jamie Murray had summed it up when he said it was only a small thing the participants had done – delighted though they were to have raised awareness locally – and they could return to life as normal pretty quickly. "But the people who have to suffer with the disease, and their families – they are the heroes.”