Adam's world record attempt: John O'Groats to Land's End in a powered wheelchair
One of Whizz-Kidz’ first children to benefit from a powered wheelchair, is attempting to break the world record, by travelling from John O’Groats to Lands’ End in a powered wheelchair modified by an F1 team, to help more children like himself.
Adam Stanton-Wharmby, 39, from Cheltenham has cerebral palsy, which in his case means he is unable to walk and has no use of his left arm.
In 1990, when Whizz-Kidz, the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users first launched, Adam was one of the first beneficiaries of a wheelchair.
From 21st March 2023, Adam is planning to break the current world record of travelling from Lands’ End to John O'Groats in his powered wheelchair in 22 days, whilst raising funds and awareness of the charity that helped him as a child.
In order for Adam to beat the current world record set by Mary Laver, who completed the route in 2009 in 24 days, for this specific challenge, Adam has had his chair upgraded by some very special engineers. During his last challenge from Cheltenham to Silverstone, a Formula One charity, Grid4Good got in touch with the Mercedes Formula One Team who then offered to modify his powered wheelchair to help me to complete my next route.
Adam has been taking part in challenges since 2017, raising money for a number of charities and raising awareness of accessibility by completing a series of wheelchair marathon challenges (Wheel Power Challenges) where he drives his wheelchair from city to city. Previous challenges have included the London Marathon route, Birmingham to Manchester and Cheltenham to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, following the national cycle routes.
Adam said; “For this project I wanted to highlight and investigate the issue of limited battery power specifically, both for wheelchairs and mobility scooters, as this was the main challenge that I faced in my previous fundraising efforts. With the rise of electric cars and charging points, I also aim to look into whether this would be a viable solution as a charging option for wheelchair users. Across the UK there are 1,500 rapid chargers, with space to charge 3,400 vehicles, and this was set to increase by 2020, as it was projected there will be over one million electric vehicles on the roads.”
“I am really pleased to be supporting Whizz-Kidz in my latest and biggest challenge. They work tirelessly to transform the lives of wheelchair users across the UK, supporting them to become confident and independent young adults. I was lucky to be one of the first beneficiaries from the charity and received my first powered wheelchair from them when I was 7 years old. It was called. “the turbo chair”.
“I have volunteered for the charity as a wheelchair skills trainer, supporting the ambassador clubs and Whizz-Kidz camps. When I volunteer, I see how excited the kids get when they're in their powered wheelchairs being able to move around independently.”
Sarah Pugh, CEO of Whizz-Kidz added; “We are thrilled that Adam is taking on this massive challenge and supporting Whizz-Kidz. It is a huge task and we will be cheering him along this adventure. We rely on the generosity and dedication of people like Adam, as without them we would not be able to transform the lives of young wheelchair users across the UK. Too many young people aren’t getting the wheelchair or support that fully meets their needs. Without the ability to be independent, young wheelchair users are restricted in their chances to socialise and participate with friends and family and society. We’re here to change that.”
For more information about the charity please visit www.whizz-kidz.org.uk
Find out more on Adam's JustGiving page.
