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CHRIS TAKES ON ‘BRUTAL YET BEAUTIFUL’ ETAPE PENNINES FOR KEEP ABBIE SMILING COMMUNITY FOUNDATION!

Congratulations to Chris Arundel, Director and Head of Agency for GSC Grays, who recently completed the ultra-challenging Etape Pennines closed road cycle race.  This 84 mile closed road cycle challenge involves 2000 metres of scenic hill climbs and exhilarating downhill sections, making it one of the most physically and aesthetically rewarding cycling sportives in the UK.  903 riders completed the challenging course out of a field of 982 with Chris came a very respectable 549th in a time of just slightly over seven hours.

 This is the third cycle challenge Chris has taken on this year!  He completed the 84 mile Caledonia Etape in May this year to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  This was then followed by a 100 mile Prudential Ride London event, which started at the Olympic Park and finished on the Mall!

 Chris’s final challenge this year was to raise funds for ‘Keep Abbey Smiling’.  A County Durham Community Foundation set up to raise funds for Abbie Kearton, a five year old girl from Barnard Castle, who has been left severely brain-damaged and physically disabled by a severe epileptic seizure.  The foundation is aiming to raise funds for sensory equipment and to make adaptions to her home environment that will assist both her and her family to lead as full and happy a life as possible.

 ‘It was a brutal ride and if it wasn’t hilly or windy it was both’ yet Chris was proud to have survived the experience and added ‘As a parent, it is especially difficult to see children and their families go through the pain of facing a new and different life with a completely different set of challenges. The dignity and fortitude in which Abbie’s family are dealing with life is quite humbling to see.  The least I can do is suffer for a few hours on a bike!’

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