LTI Boosts Sarah's Efforts For Motor Neurone Disease Research

A mother of two who ran along part of the Great Wall of China has helped raise thousands of pounds for charity - with a little help from Coventry-based taxi manufacturer LTI Vehicles.

Sarah Woodford Jones was among a group of 21 long-distance runners who took part in the China Challenge, and collectively raised more than £85,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

The 34-year-old from Cheltenham was inspired to raise funds for the charity after watching her grandmother Minnie 'Mimmie' Moore battling with the disease for 17 years.

By the time she died 10 years ago at the age of 88, Mimmie was confined to a wheelchair and could barely speak.

With her grandmother in mind, Sarah undertook the gruelling trek, covering an average of 15 miles a day for four days, which took her through the mountainous region of Beijing and along part of the Great Wall.

All her efforts paid off and she raised well over £3,000. Along the way Sarah and her fellow runners were greeted by the locals and applauded by young children.

Sarah said: "I had seen something on the Midlands news about LTI and how they were aiming to move into China, and I decided it might be an idea to write to them and see if they would support me. I was delighted by their immediate and positive response".

She added: "They were one of a number of corporate sponsors who helped me raise just over £3,400 for the Association.

"I was so pleased to raise this money for such a good cause and with the way LTI and the others supported me.

"During the event I was thinking about my grandmother, wondering what she would have thought about me doing it. I like to think she would have been delighted."