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Advance-TRS storm to the finish line for Railway Children

22nd July 2014

This month, a team from Advance-TRS successfully raced the route of the first stage of the Tour de France to raise money for Railway Children.

Sunday 13th of July saw Managing Director, Andy Ridout and Operations Director, Paul Merton swap suits and mobile phones for Lycra and sports bottles, as the duo successfully completed the 120-mile Tour de Yorkshire sportive in support of Railway Children, raising more than £650 for the esteemed children’s charity.

Railway Children is an international children’s charity that aims to support children who run away from home to live on the dangerous streets of our towns and cities. In the UK alone, a child runs away from home every five minutes, that’s 100,000 children under 16 a year.

Merton and Ridout joined 160 other cyclists at the start line at Ilkley, Yorkshire early Sunday morning before setting off on the turn-by-turn recreation of the first stage of the Tour de France. The challenging route circles up and around the breathtaking Yorkshire Dales and includes a torturous 9,924ft ascent just to ensure those thighs were burning!

“It was easily the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to do,” commented Merton. “It really puts into perspective, the sheer energy and determination required by those currently cycling the complete 21 stage route.”

The charity expects to have raised over £30,000 from the event, which will go straight towards helping fund outreach projects for children in India, East Africa and the UK. These projects provide shelter, food, clothing, medical supplies, education and counselling to thousands of children in these at-risk areas.

“Railway Children is a fantastic charity and we will continue doing whatever we can to raise money and awareness for this great cause,” commented Ridout. “There are already plans in the pipeline for ways to raise even more towards the tail end of 2014 and beyond.”

The Advance-TRS team has so far managed to raise more than £650 for the children’s charity but there is still time to donate to this fantastic cause. Visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/advanceTRS today and donate whatever you can to help improve the lives of children across the globe.