Kingsbridge colleagues Jeremy Sharland and Ian Playford have once again raised thousands of pounds for the charity Duchenne UK with an epic ride from London to Paris.

Jez, our Development Director, and Ian who is Kingsbridge’s Chairman, took on the annual 24-hour Duchenne Dash which sees riders take on a 300km challenge to support research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

To add to the fundraising efforts, Jez then rode all the way back again – battling against some rain along the way before finishing at our offices in Tangmere, Chichester, with more than £7,000 raised.

Jez and Ian, who have both completed the ride in previous years, set out from Herne Hill in a group of 158 riders with a send-off from newsreader Krishan Guru-Murthy.

They rode to Newhaven to make the ferry crossing to Dieppe before embarking on the trip to Paris, finishing with a circuit of the Arc de Triomphe on roads closed especially for the event.

After successfully making the return trip, clocking up an incredible 600km total, Jez is hopeful of exceeding his £8,000 target with post-ride donations.

All donations support the search for a cure for DMD, which mostly affects young boys and causes all the muscles in the body, including the heart and muscles, to gradually weaken.

Jez said: “Thank you so much to all you kind and generous individuals and companies that donated to this most amazing charity. The organisation of the Dash has to be experienced to be believed. It is a really special event, run by amazing people for truly inspirational young people.”

Please support Jez by donating or sharing his fundraising page, which can be found here.