Selkirk rugby coach Scott Wight going extra mile or 175 in aid of Doddie Weir’s charity

Selkirk head coach Scott Wight is used to going the extra mile from his days of playing rugby for home club Melrose, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland’s sevens team.
Selkirk rugby coach Scott Wight is lining up a coast-to-coast challenge in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation (Photo: John Smail)Selkirk rugby coach Scott Wight is lining up a coast-to-coast challenge in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation (Photo: John Smail)
Selkirk rugby coach Scott Wight is lining up a coast-to-coast challenge in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation (Photo: John Smail)

The 35-year-old reckons he’s never faced a challenge quite as daunting as one he has lined up next month in aid of fellow former Melrose star Doddie Weir’s motor neurone disease charity.

He plans to join seven friends to cycle, run, kayak and walk from Scotland’s west coast to the North Sea, covering 175 miles, within 24 hours.Backed by companies and other organisations including NFU Mutual, they’re hoping to raise awareness, as well as money, for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

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They’re tackling that coast-to-coast challenge on Saturday, June 5, beginning at Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway and finishing at Cockburnspath on the Berwickshire coast.

Selkirk rugby coach Scott Wight is lining up a coast-to-coast challenge in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation (Photo: John Smail)Selkirk rugby coach Scott Wight is lining up a coast-to-coast challenge in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation (Photo: John Smail)
Selkirk rugby coach Scott Wight is lining up a coast-to-coast challenge in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation (Photo: John Smail)

Wight is under no illusions about the scale of the task he faces, saying: “It’s hard graft, but basically it’s the same principle you’d follow with any sporting challenge - the more you do, the more you get comfortable with it.

“We try and put in a couple of 30 or 40-milers through the week, then go for a tougher shift on the Saturday.

“We’ve been training as a group since we’ve been allowed to, and Saturday mornings are when we do our biggest workouts.“A couple of Saturdays ago, we left at 5am and went for a 101-mile cycle – up to Peebles, out by Stobo Castle, into Tweedsmuir, down into Moffat, then back along by the Grey Mare’s Tail, on to St Mary’s Loch before heading home to Selkirk.”Joining Scott on the Coast to Coast in 24 Hours Challenge are former Melrose team-mates Jamie Murray, his younger brother Rory, Allan Dodds, Wayne Mitchell and Matthew Wilkie, as well as Steven and Barbara Shiel.

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“We’ll have three vehicles supporting us on the day, one of which will be carrying a couple of replacement bikes, so if there’s a puncture or a mechanical issue, it won’t cost us too much time,” he said.

“They’ll also set up food stations along the way to keep our energy levels topped up.”Wight added: “Doddie obviously appreciates the work Jamie and Rory have done setting things up and has sent a really supportive video to us.

“MND is a terrible disease, and the courage Doddie has shown since his diagnosis in 2016, and the massive amount of money he has helped raise for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, has been a real inspiration.“As Jamie puts it, it’s only something small we’re doing in the grand scheme of things, but we’re all looking forward to it and are very grateful to everyone who’s supporting the challenge.”To help them hit their £5,000 target, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/coast-2-coast-in-24-hours