THE organiser of the annual charity Christmas tractor road run hopes to raise more money than ever this year.
Ryan Muir, 29, from Johnstonebridge, is once again putting on the festive event to raise money for DGRI’s neonatal unit.
And his target for 2023 is £10,000 to help them buy a third resuscitator for the ward.
The dad-of-two said: “From my first year in 2021 doing this and last year, 2022, I have raised £14k for the neonatal ward.
“My idea came from watching YouTube one day with my daughter and coming across a Christmas tractor run in Germany where tractors were decorated with Christmas lights and lots of other decorations, so I spoke to a couple of friends and put the idea across and got the word out. I expected maybe 40-50 tractors in the first year but got a total of 98 and then last year we got 210-220.
“I’d love to get this going more and more successful every year and keep it going!”
Ryan also explained that he wants to give something back to the hospital for the care that his daughter and his niece received there as babies.
“Sixteen years ago my niece was born 13 weeks early, weighing exactly 2lb and spent months in neonatal,” he said.
“Then in 2015 my daughter was born nine weeks early due to my wife having pre-eclampsia, weighing 3lb 4.5oz and spending eight weeks in neonatal.
“I wanted to do something to say thank you for many reasons. A huge thank you to all the doctors the nurses and everyone in-between for all the hard work and dedication they put in. They don’t just help our babies in giving them the best start they can, but they’re also there giving parents like ourselves someone to lean on, keeping our spirits up and giving us encouragement to keep going when it gets a little bit harder.
“This is also a way to raise money for vital equipment, medicine and training that may be needed.”
He’s dedicating the third road run to his mum, who is a vital support behind the scenes and helps with the organisation.
Ryan said: “This year my mother has gotten a bit unwell and has just undertaken a massive operation so I’d love to dedicate this one for her and make it extra special.”
The road race is scheduled for Saturday November 25, leaving Lockerbie Mart at 2.30 pm with trophies for the best decorated tractors and trucks.
And the week before, Ryan and his tractors will be at the Lockerbie lights switch on and invite everyone to pop along and see them and take part in some games and take photos.
Helpers are still needed, particularly photographers, videographers and sponsors, as well as donations for the raffle and tombola.
To contact Ryan, search for the event on Facebook.
- Above, Ryan’s son and daughter love tractors and are excited for the event
