Super fundraiser Laura Hudson will tackle the Vietnam to Cambodia cycle ride in March next year, a gruelling six-day, 400km ride through sweltering jungle.
In preparation, Laura is taking on one mammoth challenge after the other. So far Laura has cycled the Coast to Coast Whitehaven to Sunderland route, a 50-mile route around Norwich, and tackled numerous Tough Mudder events, even completing two in a weekend!
If that wasn’t enough, Laura is also partial to donning a fancy dress outfit, but whether dressed as a chicken or a dinosaur, she still manages to cross the Tough Mudder finish lines with a smile.
Laura said:
“It was very surreal on the second day to be running a Tough Mudder again, and it didn’t really sink in! I set myself a fundraising target of £600 to run the Sunday dressed a chicken which I luckily hit. I had a great time, and got a lot of mentions from other runners, and from the comperes on the microphones at different obstacles.’’
One of the obstacles is a daunting run through a field of dangling wires charged with 10,000 volts of electricity!
No problem for Laura though.
“Once you have completed your first Tough Mudder you get to bypass the Electroshock Therapy obstacle, but I enjoy the thrill of running through it and would never skip it!’’
It’s not all about the mud though, and Laura is planning more fundraising events to help her reach her total for her big cycle ride in March.
“I’m also starting to organise a couple of other events to help with my fundraising. I held my first event in July: a quiz night complete with homemade cakes and a raffle. I’m hoping to have some cake stalls in the canteen at work whilst on my exercise bike, not only to fundraise but to also raise awareness of the charity.
“I shall also be on Series Three of Ninja Warrior UK airing in January as I filmed with them in August. It’s all pretty exciting!’’
Laura’s incredible feats of endurance are inspired by her Grandad, David Hudson, known to his family as ‘Poppa’. He sadly passed away in 2008 after a six-year fight with PSP.
“It was hard to understand why he had got PSP, what it was, and to watch such a strong man become so quiet and lost in his body,” said Laura. “Raising a substantial amount of money for a very personal charity means an awful lot to me and my family, knowing how much help and support PSPA gives to families like ours.’’