Connexion readers have been getting in touch to tell us about the charity challenges they have set themselves

Susie Moore is usually seen trimming and pampering dogs in her grooming salon between Carhaix and Gourin in Brittany, but from July 28-30 she will be throwing down her scissors and travelling to the Alps where she will hike three mountains in three days to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of her father.

“When I told my mum, she said: ‘Are you mad? You’re a five-stone weakling.’ I thought that was funny, and I wanted to do it more than ever.

“Everyone knows I'm absolutely barking mad, so it’s no great surprise that I would turn round and do something slightly different. I am training really hard and looking forward to this challenge.”

www.tinyurl.com/susiehike

Michael Dyer was diagnosed in 1996 with Parkinson’s – but he says the disease will not stop him cycling the full 250km length of the Canal du Midi from Agde to Toulouse this summer.

He will set off on August 15 and is hoping to complete the whole course unaided in seven days. Proceeds will go to the Purpan and Rangueil hospitals in Toulouse which undertook a pioneering brain operation on Mr Dyer two years ago that he says has helped him regain his ability to walk, write, ride a bike and be sociable again.

“Because of the amazing team of neurologists who have made this possible for me, I would like to thank them by raising money, so that other Parkinson sufferers can be offered this life changing operation,” he says.

www.combattreparkinson.fr

Birthday celebrations take many forms but Richard le Couteur decided to mark his 65th in style by cycling 1,400km from Strasbourg to Arcachon in the Gironde and then back to his home in Gourdon (Lot).

His trip began on April 11 and took 16 days, passing stunning countryside and attracting the attention of local villagepeople, a stray dog and a wild boar.

Mr Le Couteur has raised €1,800 for breast cancer research so far. To add to the total, call 05 65 41 45 85.

Hugh Williams-Preece ran 20 marathons in France as part of his European challenge to complete 50 in 50 days. The gruelling itinerary started in Biarritz, heading up through Cognac and La Rochelle, along the Loire valley and up to Saint-Omer before crossing to the UK.

He has raised more than €35,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care but wants to break the e50,000 barrier.

www.50in50.co.uk

Andy Chilton lives in Claix in the Isère with his wife Viviane and eight-year-old daughter Elissa, who has juvenile arthritis.

On May 5 he set off from London on his bike to ride the 550km to Paris in four days to raise money for further research into the condition.

The family have raised €4,500 so far for the Arthritis Research Campaign in the UK and the Fondation Arthritis Courtin here in France.

“We have been really touched by the generosity of friends and colleagues in France and back in the UK,” Mr Chilton says. “Thanks to the latest advances in treatment, Elissa’s illness is under control, but a lot of children do not respond to the treatment.”

www.tinyurl.com/andychilton

An Anglo-French team of four women from the Haute-Savoie are competing in the inaugural Oxfam France Trailwalker Challenge in the Parc du Morvan in the Bourgogne on June 12-13.

The aim is to complete a course of 100km in under 30 hours, walking through the night while raising money for the charity’s humanitarian work.

Trudi Simmons, Jane Williams, Stephanie Durand and Julie Sandona want to top the donations board and complete the course in under 25 hours.

www.tinyurl.com/oxfamwalkers