Lawrie's Horseplay helps raise funds for Maggie's
Edinburgh hooker Steve Lawrie handed over a £1,500 cheque to Maggie’s following a successful race night and revealed that the motivation behind the fundraising event was to pay tribute to his former coach, Grant Mackenzie.
After coaching Lawrie at Stewart Melville school, Mackenzie sadly passed away last year; prompting Lawrie and his team-mates at social 7s side Rodent Rugby to stage the evening.
Lawrie said: "The reason behind doing it for Maggie’s was because a lot of guys were coached at school by Grant Mackenzie who sadly passed away last year.
"He was obviously a big inspiration for most of the guys who came up through the system. He took a lot of comfort from the Maggie’s Centre and the help they were able to offer him during his time at Western General Hospital.
"So it was an easy choice for us in terms of choosing a charity because Maggie’s are an Edinburgh Rugby charity as well.
"I would like to send out a massive thank you to everyone who helped on the night, especially all the guys at Rodent Rugby - it went down really well."
Lawrie handed over the cheque to Maggie’s Fundraising co-ordinator Marion Taylor and also got on his bike to promote the charity's Monster Bike and Hike.
Monster 2009 is the ultimate 24-hour team building challenge, with participants completing a 30-mile cycle and then choosing to hike 8 (bronze), 22 (silver) or 43-miles (gold).
The event takes place on the bank holiday weekend of May 2nd and 3rd and takes in some of Scotland’s most awe inspiring scenery, starting under the shadow of Ben Nevis in Fort William, along the Caledonian Canal and the Great Glen Way offering views of Loch Ness en route to Inverness.
2009 will be the sixth year of the Monster Bike and Hike, with £2.5 million raised to date. Over 700 people are expected to take part to raise £500k for Maggie’s network of Centres.
Over 400 participants have already signed up for Monster 2009 and Event Manager Claire Noel says that the event is crucial in keeping the current centres open and developing in the future:
"Monster is a crucial event for Maggie’s allowing us to support and develop a network of centres across the UK. We couldn’t do this without the Monster Bike & Hike. If you’re looking for an excuse to get fit, see a great part of Scotland and spend a weekend with family, friends or colleagues, then Monster is for you. And you’ll be helping Maggie’s support thousands of people on their journey through cancer."
(20 March 2009)