Wife of Doddie Weir takes on 750-mile cycle to raise money for his charity

The wife of late rugby legend and motor neurone disease (MND) campaigner Doddie Weir will take on a 750-mile cycling challenge to raise money for the charity he founded.

Kathy Weir will cycle from the Scottish Borders to Dublin as part of the Doddie’s Triple Crown 2026 challenge.

Alongside hundreds of other riders, she will be raising money for the My Name’5 Doddie foundation as part of former Scotland captain Rob Wainwright’s annual endurance cycle.

Scotland star Doddie died in November 2022 aged 52 after living with motor neurone disease for more than six years.

In 2017 he founded the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to fund research into MND.

Kathy, 55, has supported the foundation since her husband’s death but feels now is the time to take on a major fundraising challenge.

She said: “This is probably the first year I’ve felt mentally ready to take on something like this. I don’t know about physically – but mentally, yes.

“After Doddie died, I probably wasn’t in a great place. I’d tell everyone I was fine, but I was exhausted, mentally and physically. It was emotional and it was public. It’s taken time.

“Last year I joined for the final stage and that helped.

“Now I’m at a place where I’m happy to do anything I can to help raise the profile for Rob, the foundation, and for the whole MND community.”

The cycling challenge begins on March 10 and Kathy has been practising by cycling around the Borders.

She said: “I’m a cyclist – but usually a summer cyclist. Rob keeps reminding us you don’t just ride a bike when it’s sunny – apparently we’re doing this in wet and windy weather too.

“You can’t rest tired legs when you’re riding four days on the bounce. There will be tough parts – but we’re doing it for a reason.”

Doddie’s sons Hamish, Angus and Ben have also been involved in fundraising for the foundation.

Wainwright praised the family’s efforts in taking on the fundraising challenge, saying the latest Triple Crown cycle will be difficult.

He said: “It has to be painful. Three 180 to 200-mile days in a row is relentless – the lack of sleep, the early starts, the cumulative fatigue. And if we get headwinds and rain the whole way, it’ll be brutal. But there has to be a challenge.

“It’s immensely positive to see Doddie’s family continuing the work he started. To turn something so painful into something forward-looking and positive – I’ve got enormous respect for Kathy and the boys.

“They don’t have to carry the baton – there’s a huge national and international community behind this and them – but the fact they’ve chosen to step forward and add their energy to it means a great deal.”

He added: “Long before his diagnosis, Doddie was building loyalty just by being who he was.

“He gave his time to people. He was generous and genuinely interested in others.

“When he turned that energy towards tackling MND, it created something powerful – and that’s why it’s still growing.”