Team to tackle challenge in memory of brave teenager

Personal trainer Olly Dial, from Alnwick, and six members of his popular bootcamp sessions, will take on the Tough Mudder Half Scotland on Sunday.

The no-holds-barred event at Drumlanrig Castle is described as ‘the leading five-mile obstacle-course challenge in the world’, with competitors battling hills, dark-wooded trails and thick mud.

The team has signed up for the event in honour of Kieran Wood, 17, from Longhoughton, who died in February after a year-long fight against acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Having shown true character in the face of adversity, he was preparing to take a trial drug, but passed away before he was able to take the medication.

In a tragic twist of fate, Kieran, as an 11-year-old boy, had declared that he wanted to find a cure for cancer. How cruel that he would be diagnosed with the deadly condition a few years later, which would eventually rob him of his young life.

With this in mind, and to help Kieran’s dream of finding a cancer cure come true, Olly and the team are tackling the Tough Mudder in aid of Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens, which is a campaign to raise money for research into cancers affecting children, teens and young adults.

Olly said: “This is a cause that is close to my heart and we are raising money to make one boy’s dream come true.

“Kieran wanted to find a cure for cancer and he wanted to become a geneticist. We are raising this money to continue his dream.

“He has left behind so many family members and friends who miss him dearly. He was an inspiration to so many and left a legacy that will never be forgotten.”

Olly will be joined on the Tough Mudder by Claire Skene, Nicky Jarockyj, Yasmin Blades, Patricia Gonzalez-Pineiro, Jamie Milligan and Hayley Dodd.

To sponsor the group, visit the online fund-raising page, justgiving.com/fundraising/olly-dial