Kathy Weir joins Rob for Doddie’s Triple Crown 2026

Kathy Weir is set to take part in Doddie’s Triple Crown 2026, joining Rob Wainwright and 40 teams of riders as they cycle 750 miles from Melrose to Dublin next month.

Rob has led these endurance rides since 2019. Each year, he brings together a group willing to cover serious distances over consecutive days, all to fund research into effective treatments for motor neuron disease (MND).

This year’s route will travel through the nations that take part in the Six Nations Triple Crown - Scotland, England and Wales before crossing to Ireland and finishing in Dublin on the eve of Scotland’s Six Nations match against Ireland.

The teams will ride from Melrose to Leeds on day one, Leeds to Gloucester on day two, Gloucester to Pembroke on day three - before an overnight ferry to Ireland - and finally Rosslare to Dublin.

It will be the first time since Doddie’s death that Kathy has taken on a challenge of this scale.

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."

Kathy has been training on roads around the Borders, covering up to 100 miles a week, and will ride as part of a five-person all female relay team called Five Hearts One Cause, alongside her niece and fellow riders.

Doddie’s Triple Crown follows the same principle as the rides Rob has led from the start - consecutive long-distance days, limited recovery time and a route that reflects the scale of our mission. When the cycling gets tough, riders can choose to stop. People living with MND don’t have that option.

Rob believes Kathy’s involvement in 2026 will give every rider a lift when times get tough.

He said: “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.

“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.”

Six people die from MND in the UK every day. For 98% of people living with the disease, there have been no new treatment options for decades. That is why these rides are so important.

Last year’s event, Doddie’s Grand Tour 2025, raised more than £1 million for MND research.

To donate or follow the ride, visit: justgiving.com/campaign/triplecrown26