Gregor Miller

A Cayley Castle Crusade for MND research at the Euan MacDonald Centre

Name	Gregor Miller
Cause fundraised for	University of Edinburgh’s Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research
Method of fundraising	The Caley to Castle Crusade; Ran 165 miles from Inverness to Edinburgh

Gregor began his crusade after discovering that while there is currently no cure or treatment for MND, the University of Edinburgh’s Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research is dedicated to conducting research that will improve diagnosis and develop new therapies.

We caught up with Gregor after the completion of his most recent challenge, an unbelievable run of 165 miles from Inverness to Edinburgh.

Gregor, tell us more. What inspired you to do all this?

When my dad was diagnosed with MND, I decided that I had to do something. I had never even heard of MND, but I soon found out more and discovered how horrific it is. Doddie Weir had recently revealed that he was suffering from the disease and my dad said ‘he’s 30 years younger than me, I got to see you grow up and meet my grandkids, but he’s never going to have that experience’.

My dad passed away from MND two years after he was diagnosed and his memory inspires me, but I’ve been inspired by others too. I met a man called Steve who has MND and he came to support me at my 100-mile challenge. When I saw him again, at the end of the 165-mile crusade I just welled up. We’ve kept in contact. I just can’t do enough to help him and others.

I’d never really done much running, I was more into team sports, but I wanted to do something that would be a challenge. A lot of people do marathons, but I felt I could push it to the next level. That’s where the idea of the five challenges came from.

What were the challenges?

After a lot of training, I did my first fundraising challenge, which was a run from Stirling Castle to Tynecastle and raised about £20,000. As soon as that was done, I wanted to do more. I got the idea to go a bit crazy and try to do five challenges in a single year. Those were the Inverness Half Marathon, the Manchester Marathon, running from Glasgow to Edinburgh, and running 100 miles in 24 hours at the Stirling University track. That last one was particularly tricky as it ended up being on the hottest day of the year.

Those were all a build-up to the big one though - running from Inverness Caley Thistle’s Caledonian Stadium to Tynecastle Stadium, going 165 miles in 48 hours!

I got the idea to go a bit crazy and try to do five challenges in a single year.

What training did you do?

I have had to train incredibly hard and clocked up more than 4,000 miles, while also holding down a full-time job. It has been challenging, as sometimes I was going to work at 4am then coming home from work after a full day and going out for a 40-mile training session and then back up at 4am again!

It paid off though, as the run was horrific - you wouldn’t think going from north to south there would be so many uphills, but it felt like it was up and down all the way.

How about your support?

In training it was mostly just me, but my wife Sian would sometimes join me on her bike. For the Caley to Castle challenge my good friend and Paralympian Sean Rose joined me on his hand bike for the full 165 miles, along with Richard Ellis, a photographer from the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

I then had a support team of runners who joined me for sections of the run, including my wife Sian, Andrew Paget, a lifelong friend; Scott Wilson, Hearts FC ambassador and presenter; Willie Conquer, SFA and FIFA official; Colin Cameron, Hearts and Scotland football legend; and Davy Winton with his son Ross, who have family friends who passed from MND.

Why did you choose to support the Euan MacDonald Centre?

I heard about the Euan MacDonald Centre and when I saw what they are doing, I just immediately knew they were the ones that we need to do this for.

I decided to support them, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and MND Scotland, all of whom are fighting to raise awareness for MND and funds to help with treatments. Ultimately I feel that the researchers at the Euan MacDonald Centre are the key to finding new treatments, and so anything I can do to help them is my priority. They have jumped through hoops to support me in return.

Has the 165-mile crusade changed you?

You have to appreciate today, as there are no guarantees for tomorrow.

Yeah, without a doubt. You have to appreciate today, as there are no guarantees for tomorrow. No one in my family ever had MND and then one day my dad was golfing and he was having trouble holding the club. Initially it was put down to carpal tunnel syndrome, but a physical therapist was the one who suggested that he was checked out further and soon we knew the reality.

MND is horrendous, you are trapped, unable to move, but your mind is fully intact. You become a prisoner in your own body and it’s why I am so passionate about it. I really just want to keep banging that drum, day in and day out. I finish off every message I send with a ‘let’s find a cure’. I’m completely determined.

What would you say to someone who was considering fundraising for MND or for any other cause?

Do it, just do it. You’ve got to give back and help others, as you don’t know what your help might do. That’s the way I look at it. When I was in the middle of my run, I had some really dark times. At 4am, coming down in pouring rain from Inverness, I wanted to stop at every step. I knew that people with MND don’t have that option.

They have pain every day and so anything I’m feeling will go away in a few days, but theirs won’t ever end. That’s what kept me going, they can’t give up and so neither will I.