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John O’Goats finish for vet cycle ride raising funds and mental health awareness





Chris Burn (second from right) celebrates with Callum, Mary and Maria after completing their 1182-mile end-to-end charity cycle at John O'Groats.
Chris Burn (second from right) celebrates with Callum, Mary and Maria after completing their 1182-mile end-to-end charity cycle at John O'Groats.

A young Edinburgh man was among a quartet of Scottish vets who at the weekend completed an end-to-end charity cycle ride in memory of his girlfriend.

Chris Burn battled on to the finishing line in John O'Groats despite falling off his bike and breaking a hand about 25 miles south of Glasgow.

Undaunted, after outpatient treatment in hospital, the 29-year-old completed the 1182-mile epic on the rear of a tandem which was sourced by his support team from a local bike shop.

Chris was accompanied by Mary Hall (27), Maria Mylne (30) and Callum McRoberts (26).

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They set off from Lands End on September 23, having just three rest days on their marathon which has raised £15,000 for two mental health and suicide prevention charities, Vetlife and the Cairnmore Trust.

Chris's girlfriend Kirsty Miller (29), who was also a vet, took her own life in 2022.

Chris said the charity cycle ride was “about something positive coming out of a tragedy".

The foursome followed a circuitous route after leaving Lands End so they could visit six vet schools as well as vet practices and other places that were important to Chris and Kirsty.

They gave talks at the schools to students on how best to support friends and relatives they fear could be developing suicidal thoughts.

The zig-zag itinerary added more than 300 miles to their challenge.

After encountering heavy flooding in south west England, the weather largely behaved though they had to make several bike changes following mechanical problems.

The major gremlin was when Chris veered off the road on to railings as the group were heading to Glasgow vet school and broke two small bones in his left hand.

Mary, a farm vet in Kelso, said: "He was determined to carry on but he obviously couldn't grip the handlebars with his hand in a cast so we came up with the idea of a tandem.

"One of our support team from the Canmore Trust knows someone who sells and hires bikes and we got a tiny-wheel tandem from them.

"He rode behind me on it and we were back on track the next day."

The riders spent most nights being put up courtesy of vet colleagues or friends.

Their last stop was at DS McGregor and Partners' vet surgery in Thurso on Friday afternoon from where they made the final 21 miles to Groats.

After celebrating at the 'end-of-road' signpost, Chris said: "What we want is to send out a message of hope.

“As much as raising money for two great charities, we want to raise awareness about the help there is out there for people who may be harbouring suicidal thoughts."

Chris has just completed a Masters in aquaculture at Stirling University and is currently looking for employment on a fish farm.


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