Hi, thanks for visiting my page.

I have been chosen, along with other Celtic, Rangers and Motherwell football supporters, to form a team called Gobi United FC.

We are setting off in September 2011 to trek the Gobi Desert in memory of Jimmy Johnstone and Davie Cooper to raise money for MND Scotland and for the Davie Cooper Centre. This trip is being organised by Jock McInnes, a serial fundraiser who has raised £750,000 for various charities during his lifetime, and run by Sandbaggers, a company with a wealth of experience in this type of trek.

There's goodwill towards the supporters of our national team and of our club sides (FIFA Fair play awards for Dundee Utd supporters in 1987, and for Celtic supporters in 2003 in Seville) a goodwill which has been generated by the continued and consistent good behaviour of the fans. I am happy to show that Scottish football supporters can work together happily, especially when just now when recent events at Celtic - Rangers matches have taken prominence.

You can make donations here

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/IainMcManus

or by clicking the link on the right hand side of this page

You can read all about the trek here;

http://jockmcinnes.wordpress.com

and find out more about the charities who are going to benefit, by following the links below;

www.thedaviecoopercentre.org

http://www.mndscotland.org.uk

The last time I did anything like this was when I walked the West Highland with my school, when I was 17, though I'm sure I've clocked up a few miles in IKEA.

I have started my training by walking the 4.5 miles home from work, a good part of which is along Soroba beach. I'm hoping that part of the journey will be some sort of training for the dunes in the Gobi desert. There are not a lot of hills on Tiree, to say the least (Tiree has been described as meaning "the land below the sea" in Gaelic) so I'm planning to get off the island and climb a few Munros. In another few weeks, the weather will be good enough to go out on the bike and I'll be able to cycle around the island.

I'll be giving updates on my training and fundraising via this blog

By sponsoring me to take part in this challenge you will be helping two fantastic charities - all the proceeds raised will be equally split between the two organisations. If you are eligible to claim Gift Aid, please do. This means that the charities can claim an extra 28% on top of your donation.

Don't worry if you cannot make a donation at this time, but I would ask if you could pass this onto others in your address list or friends list in any social network sites. No donation is too small, as every penny counts and makes a difference.

You can contact me directly, if you wish, on;

iainmcmanus@bigfoot.com