IFP chief executive Nick Cann - who is on long term sick leave recovering from stroke - is planning to undertake a 100 mile cycle ride in May to raise money for the Stroke Association.
The fund raising chief exec is planning to take part in the 100 mile CARTEN bike ride from Cardiff to Tenby in Wales and has a target of raising £5000 for the Stroke Association, a charity he has supported for some time.

Nick was due to give a talk to university students in Northampton about careers in Financial Planning when he suffered a stroke in March 2013 which left him with weakness on his right side and communication difficulties related to speech. Since then he has been working hard to recover and has made a number of appearances at IFP events. His speech difficulties have prevented him from public speaking, however.

His role at the IFP is being undertaken by CEO Steve Gazzard who has stepped up from operations director to be chief executive to ensure the smooth running of the professional body.

On his Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/Nick-Cann/ Nick says: "I had a stroke in March 2013 which left me with weakness in my right side and communication difficulties.

"Cycling will be a real challenge. I won't be alone as I will be accompanied by support riders and others with similar challenges. Stroke Association have really helped me and my family and I want to support them with their fund raising and awareness in Wales."
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IFP communications director Sue Whitbread said: "Nick, as we all know, is a man of many talents, however, unlike his wife Jo, Nick is not exactly well known for his cycling prowess! So from all of us at the IFP we say well done to Nick for attempting this huge challenge for such a great cause. You are an inspiration to us all and we hope you smash your fund raising target!"

So far over 25 people have donated via JustGiving towards Nick's marathon ride, pledging just over £1,000 towards his target of £5,000.
Nick's wife Jo and former IFP President Julie Lord raised nearly £15,000 between them for the Stroke Association last year with a cycle ride to Paris.

Nick has been preparing for his cycle ride in the gym each week and is now planning some road cycling to get ready for the big day.

The CARTEN 2015 event will take place on Saturday 9 May with up to 2000 cyclists taking part and most raising money for charity. The event started with four riders in 2004, rising to 1,000 riders in 2013. The CARTEN100 cycle ride takes place roughly over a 10 hour period.

It is not a race and the main purpose is to raise money for charity. The ride uses mainly A-Roads, B-Roads and cycle routes. It is described as: "a challenge, never a race".