Gruelling hill race attempt to raise £1000

Aberdeen man aims to help Camphill Newton Dee

Dave Thompson, from Cults in Aberdeen, is in training to take part in the gruelling 42km Lairig Ghru hill race on Sunday, June 27. Apart from the sheer challenge of finishing, Dave is aiming to raise £1,000 for the Camphill Newton Dee community.

Dave Thompson, Business Development Manager with Capita Health Solutions in Aberdeen, has competed on this race twice before – so he does know the challenges he will face. But he describes his last attempt two years ago as a “nightmare” and found it very difficult to finish the course. That, he says, was the spur to try again this year.

The Lairig Ghru race route takes contestants from Braemar, climbing to more than 2,000 feet on the boulder-strewn trail through the Lairig Ghru mountain pass. The finish is in Aviemore.

Commenting on why he wants to raise money for Camphill Newton Dee, Dave Thomson says:

“I live quite close to Newton Dee and I am a regular visitor at the store and café. I think what they do there is tremendous and I really want to something to help and support them.

“The ethos of Camphill and Newton Dee is that everyone brings to the community different abilities, which they use for the benefit of those around them. The community is therefore bound together by the support, which each individual gives and receives.”

Newton Dee, one of seven charities within Camphill Aberdeen City and Shire, is home to some 200 people of whom around half are adults with special needs. Newton Dee is currently celebrating its 50th Annversary as an adult community.

This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Camphill in Aberdeen. On June 1, 1940 a group of young refugees opened the door of Camphill House in Milltimber, Aberdeen, to children with with special needs.

From those early days in wartime Aberdeen, Camphill has now grown to encompass 100 communities in 23 countries. In the Aberdeen area more than 700 people live and work in Camphill Aberdeen City and Shire charities.

Dave Thompson’s fundraising page on Just Giving is at http://www.justgiving.com/Dave-Thompson0

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