{"id":483623,"date":"2026-02-16T12:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483623\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T12:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:13:12","slug":"doddie-weirs-widow-takes-on-750-mile-cycling-challenge-to-raise-money-for-mnd-charity-he-founded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483623\/","title":{"rendered":"Doddie Weir\u2019s widow takes on 750-mile cycling challenge to raise money for MND charity he founded"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The widow of rugby icon Doddie Weir is embarking on a formidable 750-mile cycling journey from the Scottish Borders to Dublin, aiming to raise vital funds for the motor neurone disease<\/a> (MND) charity her late husband founded. <\/p>\n

Kathy Weir will join hundreds of other riders in the Doddie\u2019s Triple Crown 2026 challenge<\/a>, supporting the My Name\u20195 Doddie Foundation.<\/p>\n

This gruelling endurance cycle, an annual event spearheaded by former Scotland captain Rob Wainwright, seeks to generate significant donations for research into MND. <\/p>\n

The foundation was established by Doddie Weir in 2017, following his own diagnosis with the debilitating condition. The beloved Scotland star passed away in November 2022 at the age of 52, after living with MND for over six years.<\/p>\n

While Kathy, 55, has been a steadfast supporter of the foundation since her husband\u2019s death, she now feels prepared to undertake a major fundraising endeavour herself. <\/p>\n

Reflecting on her decision, she shared: “This is probably the first year I\u2019ve felt mentally ready to take on something like this. I don\u2019t know about physically \u2013 but mentally, yes.”<\/p>\n

She candidly spoke about the aftermath of Doddie\u2019s passing: “After Doddie died, I probably wasn\u2019t in a great place. I\u2019d tell everyone I was fine, but I was exhausted, mentally and physically. It was emotional and it was public. It\u2019s taken time.” <\/p>\n

\"Kathy<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Kathy Weir (left) is taking on the charity challenge led by Rob Wainwright (Craig Watson\/Story Shop\/PA)<\/p>\n

Last year, she participated in the final stage of the ride, which she found helpful. “Now I\u2019m at a place where I\u2019m happy to do anything I can to help raise the profile for Rob, the foundation, and for the whole MND community,” she added.<\/p>\n

The cycling challenge is set to commence on March 10, and Kathy has been diligently training around the Borders. <\/p>\n

She admitted: “I\u2019m a cyclist \u2013 but usually a summer cyclist. Rob keeps reminding us you don\u2019t just ride a bike when it\u2019s sunny \u2013 apparently we\u2019re doing this in wet and windy weather too.” <\/p>\n

Acknowledging the physical toll, she stated: “You can\u2019t rest tired legs when you\u2019re riding four days on the bounce. There will be tough parts \u2013 but we\u2019re doing it for a reason.”<\/p>\n

Doddie\u2019s sons, Hamish, Angus, and Ben, have also been actively involved in fundraising efforts for the foundation. <\/p>\n

Rob Wainwright commended the family\u2019s commitment to the cause, highlighting the inherent difficulty of the upcoming Triple Crown cycle.<\/p>\n

“It has to be painful. Three 180 to 200-mile days in a row is relentless \u2013 the lack of sleep, the early starts, the cumulative fatigue. And if we get headwinds and rain the whole way, it\u2019ll be brutal. But there has to be a challenge,” Wainwright explained. <\/p>\n

\"Rob<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Rob Wainwright is leading the charity event (Andrew Milligan\/PA) (PA Archive)<\/p>\n

He expressed profound admiration for the family\u2019s resilience: “It\u2019s immensely positive to see Doddie\u2019s family continuing the work he started. To turn something so painful into something forward-looking and positive \u2013 I\u2019ve got enormous respect for Kathy and the boys.”<\/p>\n

Wainwright emphasised the significance of their involvement: “They don\u2019t have to carry the baton \u2013 there\u2019s a huge national and international community behind this and them \u2013 but the fact they\u2019ve chosen to step forward and add their energy to it means a great deal.” <\/p>\n

He concluded by reflecting on Doddie\u2019s enduring impact: “Long before his diagnosis, Doddie was building loyalty just by being who he was. He gave his time to people. He was generous and genuinely interested in others. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he turned that energy towards tackling MND, it created something powerful \u2013 and that\u2019s why it\u2019s still growing.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-483623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}