A BUSINESS owner completed the “Ride of His Life” at the weekend to raise funds for charity.

Karl Avison, who runs Cedarbarn Farmshop, near Pickering, with his wife, Mandy,took part in the Macmillan Ride of their Lives on Saturday at York Racecourse.

He was prompted to take part after Macmillan helped his father when he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour in 2006.

Karl had initially pledged to raise £10,000 but has beaten that target, with the current total £17,850.

He said: “This was without doubt the biggest buzz of my life, I can’t quite put in to words how fantastic not only the day was, but the whole process has been.

“The support has been truly overwhelming from friends, family, lovely customers, sponsors and local businesses alike.

Karl, who came fifth in the race, said: “My special thanks goes to Brian Ellison, without whom none of this would have been possible.

“I have met and trained with some wonderful people,and I will value their friendship for life.

Karl said: “We have together exceeded my original target of £10,000, and to date we raised £17,850 for Macmillan in the Memory of my father Colin Avison.

“A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me through all our events, your generosity has meant the world to me.”

The 49th staging of Macmillan Charity Raceday raised a record amount of over over £640,000. The day’s finale saw 11 riders in the Ernest Cooper Macmillan Ride of their Lives which was won by Charlotte Atkinson, contributed more than £300,000 to the overall figure raised.

Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “On behalf of all our Macmillan nurses, doctors, support workers and cancer experts, I wanted to say a massive thank-you to everyone who made this year’s Macmillan Charity Raceday such a success. Macmillan Cancer Support relies almost entirely on donations – we simply couldn’t help the growing number of people who need us, without the support and generosity of everyone. You will help ensure Macmillan can continue to be there for people living with cancer, from the moment of their diagnosis.”

To donate go to www.macmillan.org.uk/charityraceday