Tracy’s 3rd Fundraising Cycle

We are very pleased to share that our principal, Tracy Hawkes, has recently completed her third Genesis Research Trust fundraising cycling challenge!

Completing the four day, 420-km challenge didn’t come easy for Tracy, though.

She was injured on Day One, suffering a sprained wrist and dislocated elbow. But Tracy was determined to continue and managed to get back on her bike that same afternoon and cycle to Dover.

Day 1

15 miles in I was knocked off my bike, staved my wrist and dislocated my elbow! Being knocked off my bike and suffering a sprained wrist and dislocated elbow was almost worthwhile when I was awarded the Pig of Prestige for coping so admirably and getting back on my bike a few hours later to cycle to Dover!

Day 2

I’m very swollen bruised and stiff, but have done 40miles from Calais so far — the show must go on!

Day 3

Day three is in the bag – another 80miles completed in lovely sunshine to Beauvais – Paris tomorrow! My left arm is managing to hold out.

Day 4

I did it! My challenge is over and I cycled London to Paris after dislocating my elbow and spraining my wrist on Day 1! I also went all the way using only the small cog and one brake!

This was Tracy’s third sponsored cycle in a span of only a year. She first started cycling in 2015 to raise fund for Genesis Research Trust. After months of training, she completed Fern Britton’s #Challenge57 in May 2015 – cycling 57 miles every single day, going from John O’Groats to Glasgow, then from Weston Super Mare to Lands End, completing 590 miles (950km) over ten “amazing and exhilarating, but tough” days, and raising £2,100.

Fern Britton is a patron for Genesis Research Trust and her goal was to collectively raise £57,000 – everyone who joined the challenge helped to raise a whopping £150,000.

Tracy’s second sponsored cycle took her to Kerala, India, where she joined over 40 cyclists for five days, cycling 450kms and raising over £3,300.

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“I feel so privileged to have spent over a week with such an amazing group of women raising money for Genesis Research Trust.

The total ascent over those 5 days amounted to nearly 14,500ft – which is almost the equivalent of the height of Mont Blanc and it was achieved in great heat and humidity and the Indian traffic!

I really pushed myself to my limit, cycling both of the optional extra stretches of 53km (which only two of us did). It was truly an incredible, unforgettable experience and I’m honoured to be supporting Genesis Research Trust.”

Tracy then joined more than 50 other cycling enthusiasts this summer on her third fundraising trip – you can still donate to Genesis Research Trust on Tracy’s Just Giving page.

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“A fantastic sense of achievement to have cycled London to Paris in 4 days and with an injured arm! Despite the injury, it was a brilliant trip (and for such a worthwhile cause)!”

Genesis Research Trust raises money to finance vital medical research into the causes and cures for conditions affecting women and babies. These include cancer, miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and brain damage.

1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, with many women suffering recurrent miscarriage, leading to physical trauma, psychological stress and complications in a subsequent pregnancies, including preterm delivery, low birth weight and physical disabilities. Genesis Research Trust‘s primary aim is to improve the health of the unborn child and his or her mother – they want to give everyone the chance of a healthy family.