Sport student cycles 1,000-plus miles raising £5,500 for friend

Sport student Leon has completed a 1,000-plus mile cycle from John O'Groats to Lands End to raise money for his fellow student and close friend’s brother, Chae, who has an incurable brain tumour.

Leon Cherrington-Jones, who set off on his journey from John O’Groats in Scotland on 31st May and was joined by Chae’s brother Tage for the last leg of his journey, cycled an incredible 1,024 miles to raise money to help Chae and his family with any costs for future treatment and support.

Leon set up a Just Giving crowdfunding page for Chae which has raised £5,500, including £260 raised by his fellow sport classmates during their annual ‘Superstars’ event at the end of last year.

Towards the end of their journey, the students made a quick stop off at the College to a resounding cheer from their peers and staff before heading off on the next leg of their journey.

During his visit to the College, Leon said: “There have been a few challenges; hills and highpoints and 20mph headwinds through Glencoe, but overall, it’s going really well.

Leon spoke of why he decided to take up the challenge: “In a time of utter heartbreak, the family is doing amazing and all they can, I admire them all. I wanted to give something back to them as they feel like another family to me and are all amazing people.

“Having the support, sponsors and donations that I have received in the past few months has been incredible and pushing me in every bit of training and work I’ve been putting in.”

Julian Wills who leads the Health, Wellbeing and Sport Project programme available to students at Callywith College, provided Leon with advice and guidance on how best to train for his challenge to help him succeed. As a Performance Triathlon Coach, Julian was able to help Leon create a balanced training plan to prepare him for the ride, gradually building his strength and endurance so he was able to start his charity cycle in the best possible shape.

On the thirteenth and last day of his journey, Leon cycled around 56 miles down to Lands End fortunately missing the traffic of the G7 summit. On his crowdfunding page, Leon shared: “Coming around a corner to see a sign saying 1 mile to Lands End, there was a lot of emotions. I would like to thank everyone that came down and made the ending so special.

“I feel relieved to have finished a long journey that has been months in the making. Thinking back, I’m so glad I made the decision to start the challenge and seeing how it turned out has been amazing. I am so humbled by the generosity and kindness of the community and the support and donations have blown me away. I can’t tell you how grateful I am and I know Chae’s family are the same. They are very special people and deserve the best. I love them all.”

​All of Leon’s lecturers, fellow classmates and the rest of the staff at Callywith College are incredibly proud of everything Leon is doing and has already achieved for Chae and his family.