Dash to Paris in 2024

Duchenne Dash organiser Duchenne UK is reaching out for new riders in tough conditions for fundraising.

"This year has been a roaring success," event director Emily Waring told Velocity. "We've raised over £800,000 and we've already recruited a third of the riders for next year's Duchenne Dash - over 50 have signed up."

However, fundraising is a concern in current economic conditions, so the organisation is reaching out to the real estate industry for new riders. "Recruitment is at its strongest since pre-Covid," Waring said. "But fundraising is a challenge. We're asking for £4,000 per rider, and we want to find new people to embrace not only the physical challenge but also the fundraising. We're keen to know if there's anyone out there in property who can use their network to bring donors and sponsors."

The Duchenne Dash is a 24-hour ride from Herne Hill velodrome in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Started over a decade ago by TV newsreader and Duchenne UK patron, Krishnan Guru-Murthy (interviewed by Velocity for the Tracks of my Tyres podcast here), the ride has raised £7 million for research into curing Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Many of the riders are related to children suffering from DMD, making this a particularly intimate and moving experience, as fundraising cyclists are spurred on by personal stories from fellow riders. 

The 300km fully-supported ride includes an overnight ferry to Dieppe and dawn cycling in a beautiful part of northern France. The event has more sponsors than ever before, including Dutch electric charging operator Fastned. "Our support cars are fully electric but that was a learning curve!" Waring said. "How we got to Paris this year with enough juice I don't know.

"At Newhaven, waiting for the ferry, we were trying to charge up the vehicles and we couldn't get the app to work. A guy from Fastned happened to be there and helped us; he even paid for the charge. And now they're a sponsor, providing their comprehensive infrastructure for the whole trip. That's the power of the Dash! All our sponsors come through a connection like that."

The 12th Dash takes place on 17-18 May. For more information access FAQs here or email event director Emily Waring here.