Army veteran and extreme athlete Darren Hardy, from Fleet in Hampshire took his biggest challenge by pulling a 1.5-tonne Land Rover for 100km in 100 hours. Image Credit: The Dunsfold Collection
A former British soldier took an extraordinary test of strength and endurance by pulling a 1.5-tonne Land Rover across 100 kilometres in 100 hours. Darren Hardy, an extreme athlete from Fleet in Hampshire, launched the challenge to raise £100,000 for research into a rare and incurable brain disease affecting children. His efforts were focused on helping 17-year-old Aggie Candy-Waters and other families living with hypomyelination with atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum, commonly known as H-ABC. Hardy’s commitment to the cause began in 2019, when he came across the story of Aggie Candy-Waters. The Dunsfold Collection reported that Hardy raised more than £120,000 through his previous charitable efforts. This attempt was aimed to generate another £100,000 specifically for work that could help make treatment more accessible to patients and their families. The company selected a lead candidate, identified as SB H-19642, and had been working towards clinical trials, potentially in early 2027. Hobbs Independent reported that SynaptixBio had received a £2 million BioMedical Catalyst grant from Innovate UK. Since Hardy began supporting the cause, SynaptixBio had been established and attracted £11 million in additional investment towards treatment development. The 100-kilometre Land Rover pull was another step in his continuing efforts to support children living with H-ABC.
As reported by Hobbs Independent, H-ABC is a severe form of TUBB4a leukodystrophy, a genetic condition that affects the central nervous system.
Preclinical studies had indicated that the treatment could halt disease progression and potentially reverse some symptoms, according to Hobbs Independent. The money raised through the challenge was intended to support the H-ABC Foundation and SynaptixBio, a UK biotechnology company developing a potential treatment for the condition. It is rare, progressive and currently has no approved cure. Her experience motivated him to use his endurance challenges to support research that could improve the lives of children affected by the disease. SynaptixBio is developing an antisense oligonucleotide therapy for H-ABC. Researchers hope to develop a method that would allow the drug to be administered intravenously, through a vein. Such an approach could make treatment easier to deliver while avoiding the challenges associated with direct injection into the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The company also received Rare Paediatric Disease Designations from the US Food and Drug Administration for H-ABC and related conditions. These achievements helped him raise money for H-ABC research while drawing attention to the families affected by the condition.