Campaigners have powered their way more than 280,000 miles to support Abbie’s Sparkle Foundation’s mission to “reach the moon”.
The charity was established by Elgin 15-year-old Abbie Main before her death from cancer on Christmas Day, 2017 to help others facing the same illness.
For the last two months nearly 1,100 supporters have been logging miles they have run, cycled and swum to celebrate what would have been her 18th birthday.
At the weekend the group reached the out-of-this-world target after 59 days while raising about £8,500 to fund the charity’s Christmas sparkle mission.
The goal was helped with messages of support from Holywood actor Ewan McGregor and former Aberdeen football player Eoin Jess.
Brother Cameron Main, 21, who is chairman of the charity, said: “We had wanted to organise a sparkle ball for Abbie’s 18th, like we did for her 16th, but it’s obviously not possible at the moment.
“Instead, we came up with the idea of trying to reach the moon together because we’re all trying to keep fit individually during lockdown so we thought it would bring people together as a team.
“Before it started we had maybe 400 or 500 people signed up but it reached 1,085 in the end. It’s an amazing response, lots of people have been out taking photos of the moon while they’re running, it means a lot to us.”
Contributions have included a six-year-old completing a 12-mile indoor cycle, outdoor enthusiasts paddle boarding on the water and Abbie’s grandmother logging distances completed while walking with friends.
Meanwhile, Cameron completed about 1,500 miles himself to help Abbie’s Sparkle Foundation “reach the moon” while training to secure a spot as a triathlete in Scotland’s 2022 Commonwealth Games team.
Money raised from the mission to the moon will be used to spread festive gifts, known to the charity as “sparkles” due to Abbie’s love of glitter.
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Cameron said: “One of the main things we wanted to do was raise awareness of childhood sarcoma – the money is really just a bonus.
“Our main goal at the moment is to help children over Christmas, we usually get a lot of applications for gifts and grants at this time.
“Normally we would go to hospitals in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness ourselves.
“Obviously that’s not possible this year but we’re still really over the next month or two to give as much as we can.”
Donations can still be made to support the Miles to the Moon mission online.
