On Saturday 19 October, several of the Riello UPS team took on the Tough Mudder North West hardcore obstacle course at Chomondley Castle.

Incorporating 20 challenging obstacles, including swimming through freezing water and climbing across an 80-foot-high hanging frame, the course spanned an arduous 15 km (10 miles) of ankle-high mud. It truly lived up to the pre-event billing as “the ultimate test of strength, stamina, and mental fortitude”.

But our intrepid team of ‘Riello Runners’ had extra special motivation to go the extra mile – we dedicated our involvement to young Florence, who is the niece of our Senior Sales Engineer Owain Roberts.

Florence was born with a very rare genetic condition called Trisomy 8 mosaicism syndrome (T8M) and a rare brain condition called Agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC). In her short life this has caused her many complications. She’s been diagnosed with scoliosis, low muscle tone, and hearing and vision impairments. She also has a low immune system and poor swallow system.

Through the tireless support of her loving family and the Just4Children charity, Florence receives crucial private therapies and intensive physiotherapy that help improve her quality of life and provide hope for a more independent future.

And thanks to the generosity of colleagues, customers, family and friends, the ‘Riello Runners’ have raised the amazing amount of nearly £2,200 so far for the ‘Florence’s Flourishing Future’ campaign.

So a huge well done to each and every one of the ‘Riello Runners’ who took on – and defeated – the Tough Mudder:

• Owain Roberts
• Daniel Beach
• Liza Williams
• Katy Thomas
• Weronika Krupinska
• Ben Pearson
• Ryan Jones
• Charlotte Tennet
• Hannah Linney
• Tomasz Rybicki
• Mateusz Heleniak

“I had an absolute ball, it was strangely very enjoyable throwing yourself into puddles of sewage, diving into freezing cold water, and trying to climb up obstacles that looked far too large to climb.

 

“By far the toughest bit for me was having to hang on and drag myself across the hanging frame, 80 feet above the air with the fear of falling all that way was truly terrifying for me...

 

“Both my sister and I are blown away by the amount of donations we have received and can’t thank everyone who sponsored us enough.

 

“I’m very proud to work for a company that supports employees' good causes, and even prouder of the gang that went through the challenge to raise such a huge amount.

 

“It was great to do it side by side with everyone and it was a great day, everyone pulled together to support each other through the obstacles that different people found more difficult.”

- Owain Roberts

As our chosen charity for the whole of 2024, we’ll continue to raise more vital funds for Florence throughout the rest of the year, including kind-hearted support from the annual Datacentre.me ‘Christmas Kick-Off’ charity party.

Everyone at Riello UPS hugely appreciates the generosity shown so far. And if you would like to show your support for Florence too you can still donate on our dedicated JustGiving page.

Thank you in advance – any donation will make a big difference!