A man will scale Britain’s highest mountain while carrying 100 kg on his shoulders to fundraise for motor neuron disease (MND).

David Dooher, a mountain rescuer and father-of-two, is fundraising for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which is dedicated to funding research into MND treatments and creating “a world free of MND”.

To mark his 38th birthday, David intends to carry a 100 kg barbell whilst hiking Ben Nevis. He has already raised more than £10,000 for the charity and aims to set a Guinness World Record.

The Uddingston man said: “The pain in my back, neck and shoulders is impossible to ignore and manage, however I want to symbolise the burden carried by the people who live with MND and their families as much as possible.”

Along with his support team, David is set to take off from the Ben Nevis Inn at 7pm tonight. The hiker said: “We wanted to climb in the evening to minimise disruption to other hillwalkers. My goal is to reach the summit by 7am.

“With the fine weather it should make for an amazing sunset and sunrise. I am worried about injury, but I’ve prepared mentally, and I will keep going until the job is done.”

In order to prepare for the challenge, David trained six days per week, every week, for the last six months. Additionally, he increased his calorie intake to over 4,000 calories.

David feels inspired by Doddie Weir, who founded the charity upon his diagnosis with MND.

He said: “I’ll be thinking about Doddie with every step”.

Doddie Weir was a Scottish rugby union player, who made 61 international appearances for the Scotland national team, in addition to representing the British and Irish Lions.

He passed away in November 2022 at the age of 52 after suffering from motor neurone disease.

Paul Thompson, director of fundraising at My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, said: “We are blown away by David’s efforts. His training alone is unthinkable.

“We will all be rooting for him and are very proud that Doddie’s legacy continues to inspire people to do incredible things and push beyond their limits, all to find a cure for MND. We are very grateful to him, and to everyone who has donated.”

For more information on My Name’5 Doddie, visit: https://www.myname5doddie.co.uk/who-we-are/

To support David’s JustGiving page, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-dooher