Harpenden businessman’s 1,000 mile mission for MS research

A HARPENDEN businessman and his friend are walking a thousand miles across the UK to raise money for research into ground-breaking treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Len Williamson and his friend Rob Kyprianou have already completed the 200-mile Coast to Coast walk from Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire to St Bees in the Lake District and have raised �48,000 towards their �100,000 target.

Additional money has also been raised by two charity nights in Harpenden which have raised �650.

They were organised by semi-retired investment banker Steve Meeks, 53, a golfing colleague of Len’s at Brocket Hall, and his girlfriend Christine Makhoul whose business M2 Chartered Accountants sponsored the event.

They invited family and friends to their Harpenden home to drink, eat and socialise as well as donate money to the cause.

Len, 54, an executive coach for The Owl Partnership, and Rob have been inspired to take on their 1,000 Miles for Hope campaign by Len’s wife Karen, 55, who was diagnosed with MS at the age of 36.

He described his wife as “a fighter” who, despite the cruelty of her condition, took on the world with a smile and was an inspiration to her family and many other people.

He went on: “I have now found something that may give her hope – a myelin repair treatment being research by Professor Robin Franklin at Cambridge University.”

Len added: “Even if this treatment is not achieved in Karen’s lifetime, I know she will have a great feeling that others may not have to suffer the same fate in future generations.

For more information about the 1,000 Miles For Hope campaign visit the website at http://1000miles4hope.com/20705/index.html