More than 500 participants took to the roads of Highland Perthshire at the weekend to take part in one of Scotland’s most successful fundraising events, the Martin Currie Rob Roy Challenge.
The hike and bike event on Saturday which started in Pitlochry and finished in Kenmore helped raise funds for a number of good causes.
This year Mercy Ships, an international charity which operates the world’s largest floating hospital, the Africa Mercy, was the leading charity partner of the Rob Roy Challenge.
The event, which is in its 11th year, included various options for participants from a gruelling 16 mile walk and a 56 mile cycle to just opting for the walk.
The challenge is famous for its post-event party by the shores of Loch Tay in Kenmore and this year lived up to expectations with the participants and their supporters enjoying live music, local food, entertainment for children and fireworks to end the day.
To date the challenge has involved more than 5,500 hardy souls battling the Scottish wilderness by taking on a range of hiking, running and cycling routes, raising almost £3 million for charity in the process.
Judy Polkinhorn, executive director of Mercy Ships UK, said: “Our partnership with the Rob Roy Challenge means that we’ll be able to help more people broken down through poverty and disease in some of the poorest countries in the world.
“A lack of health care in developing countries means that children and adults with surgical needs go untreated. Mercy Ships’ mission is to address that need and we perform thousands of free transformative surgeries every year.
“Funds raised by everyone taking part in the Rob Roy Challenge will help to power our floating hospital ship and pay for essential medical supplies and ship repairs; allowing our extraordinary volunteers to continue to provide over 322 medical operations and procedures every single day.”
Sheena Kelman, chair of the Martin Currie Charitable Foundation added : “We’re very proud to play our part in contributing to the excellent work carried out by Mercy Ships and our other five charity partners, Breast Cancer Now, Cyrenians, Marie Curie, Mercy Corps and Maggies.”
