Tranent man Adam Cook stands up on train for 16 hours to raise money to fight cancer

Adam Cook, along with friend George Jack, stood for more than 16 hours as they travelled on trains between Edinburgh and Paris and back, to raise money for Stand Up to Cancer.

Over the past four years, Mr Cook has raised more than £5,000 for the charity, a cause close to his heart following the death of his dad, also Adam, in 2014.

Last year, the pair stood on trains as they travelled to London and back, and they made the same journey to start this year’s trip, before taking the Eurostar to Paris.

They stopped off in Paris for two hours, before beginning their journey home.

Adam told the Courier what made him get involved in fundraising for Stand Up to Cancer four years ago.

The 48-year-old said: “My father found a lump on his neck and went to the doctor – visits to hospitals across Edinburgh followed, but the news was not good. He had a form of blood cancer, but the feeling was that chemotherapy would help. However, it started to make him worse and [his treatment] was changed to tablet form – the reaction was still the same.”

Adam’s dad died in January 2014, and he stood at his then workplace – Asda at the Jewel – that year, before standing for a day on Edinburgh Trams, and last year travelling alongside Mr Jack to London and back.

Mr Cook told the Courier: “George and I headed into Edinburgh to catch our first train at 5am, and what followed was an epic journey – standing through three countries, on four trains, for 1,360 miles in just under 16 hours.

“Fundraising is easy; look at me, I just stand about all day, the hard part is for someone who has been given that devastating news.”

He also thanked The Kilt Store, which supplied the pair with kilts for their epic journey, and Scrum magazine, which has offered rugby prizes, with anyone who donates entered into a draw.

Adam also told the Courier he had begun thinking about next year’s fundraising adventure.

To add to the pair’s impressive total, visit bit.ly/2efjCO2