Exeter City fan Leah Bolton, 31, will have cycled more than 200 miles to St James Park when she joins thousands of other fans on May 7 for City's final fixture of the season.
Leah will have cycled more than 200 miles to get to the game having spent the week cycling from Vale Park, the home of opponents Port Vale. Leah, a team leader at Atlas Packaging in Barnstaple, said:
"When I saw that the last game of the season was against Port Vale, the team that my dad supports, I knew I had to do something special to celebrate the game. I've been raising money for the charity Chemohero over the past couple of years and so I decided to cycle from Port Vale to St James' Park to help raise some more money for Chemohero."
Leah, though, won't be riding on a race bike that is specifically adapted to road cycling. Instead, she'll be using her trusty Pendleton push bike named Penelope which has only seven gears and will be a far harder challenge to cover the 202 miles from Vale Park to Exeter City. Accompanying Leah will be experienced cyclists and colleagues at Atlas Packaging, Mark Reeve and Phil Sweetland, Phil said:
"Cycling more than 200 miles for someone who isn't a regular cyclist is quite a challenge so to attempt this ride on a push bike is something else entirely. But Leah is full of determination, and I've got no doubt that she'll succeed and raise lots of money for the charity."
This will be Leah's third charity cycle for Chemohero having previously cycled 100 miles in five days and then 100 miles in a single day, both times on the flat surface of the Tarka Trail in North Devon. But the route from Burslem, where Port Vale is based, to Exeter will include road cycling and some very steep climbs. Leah, though, won't be cycling on the motorway despite being asked that question by Exeter City defender Pierce Sweeney at the photoshoot to launch her ride! Exeter City boss Matt Taylor said:
“All at the club wish Leah all the best with this incredible challenge, it’s yet another example of our supporters going the extra mile to support such important causes.
We are looking forward to welcoming her to the Park and hope she won’t be too exhausted and will be able to watch what looks like it will be an exciting match at the Park! Please do support Leah and a fantastic cause if you can.”
Leah has previously raised more than £10,000 for Chemohero, a charity that provides boxes of essential and comfort items for patients receiving their first dose of Chemotherapy in hospital. If you'd like to donate to Leah's latest challenge, then her fundraising site is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/leah-bolton2