THE rowers of MYC Porthmadog pulled together for a 24-hour Rowathon to raise money for the National Children’s Air Ambulance and Ysgol Hafod Lon at Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd.

With five ‘ergo’ rowing machines set up in the Chapel Room of Madog Yacht Club and the Celtic long boats going out in the estuary, they clocked up over one million metres!

This eclipsed the distance they set when rowing in March 2020 for Sport Relief.

The challenge started at 6pm on Friday with a sturdy few continuing throughout the night. Enthusiastic members and guests dropped in during Saturday to lend their support and so far have raised £675 for the nominated charities.

Ysgol Hafod Lon, supports local children aged between 3 and 19 years old who have additional needs and the Children’s Air Ambulance (Keeping Hope Alive) offers a life saving transfer service for critically ill babies and children. When children are too sick to travel, the service can fly medical teams and bespoke equipment to them.

Richard Gloster organized the event, including getting a donated TV set up for rowers’ entertainment and food supplied by local businesses.

Richard, who was present for the whole 24 hours, afterwards said: “My body is OK at the moment, however my head and heart tell me different, great nuggets of memories, camaraderie and a sense of achievement.”

MYC have a long history of raising money for charity and have chosen Ysgol Hafod Lon as their charity for this year and will be presenting a cheque to help purchase equipment in the next few weeks.

Anyone who would like to get involved in rowing are invited to make contact via MYC Rowing at [email protected] or check their website MYC Rowing at madog-rowing.co.uk