9,000-mile charity trek

Nick Draper’s mother, Jenny

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A CHADDERTON father is taking on the drive of his life to remember his much-loved mother.

Nick Draper, of Crescent Road, is joining forces with five of his closest friends to tackle a 9,000-mile adventure drive to Mongolia.

But never one to take the easy option, Nick (37) is boarding a nine-year-old ambulance for the journey over some of the world’s toughest terrain.

The team, including friends Matt Thomas, Ben O’Donoghue, Keiran Middleton and John Hummer, will set off on this year’s Mongol rally from Sussex on Saturday, July 23. But it won’t all be fun and games, an emotional cause will propel them to the finish line. Nick’s mother, Jenny Draper, died in 2000 after suffering from breast cancer.

Nick said: “We started talking and we all had a link to the disease.

“Three of us had lost people and the other two have been touched in some way.

“It was such a shock when mum died, the disease not only took her life it took part of mine and my children never got to meet her. We’ve got great impetus to do it because we’re hoping to raise massive amounts of money, up to £20,000.”

Proceeds from the challenge will go to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

The close team-mates decided they not only wanted to take part in the race, but wanted a vehicle they could donate to the Mongolian community.

Nick then wrote to over 300 companies, asking for their help with the mission and luck struck when the team was given the nine-year-old ambulance by a company in Bristol.

Nick, a senior support worker at North Manchester General Hospital, will be the navigator and medic on the mission with just three drivers between them.

From Sussex to Western Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, stunning desert landscapes and cultural experiences await.

Nick added: “It’s the perfect challenge, my mum was really into sailing and exploring and visited so many places. She’d be so proud.

“It sounds incredible. Some of the highways are simply dust tracks in Mongolia so it should be a real challenge.

“It may seem funny, five men raising cash for breast cancer, but it means a lot to us and we can raise awareness that men suffer from it too.”

They have already raised £1,000 and plan to complete the race in three to four weeks.

To sponsor them on their mission visit www.mongolia5.com