A PARKINSON’S sufferer from southern Oxfordshire has completed a ‘phenomenal’ 240-mile endurance race through the Canadian wilderness.

Alex Flynn canoed, kayaked, mountain biked, ran and hiked through stunning scenery near Whistler, in British Colombia, but has since learned that his exploits led him to suffer cracked ribs and a bulging disc in his spine.

Mr Flynn took on glaciers, overcame his fear of water in white water rafting and had a near miss with a bear during the non-stop endurance event, which his team finished in four days and five hours.

The 46-year-old Wantage resident, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's a decade ago, admitted: “There is a significant risk with a race like Primal Quest that you could end up seriously injured or dead.”

But, he said, the event was ‘phenomenal’ and the scenery ‘stunning’.

“Primal Quest takes things to a whole new level.

“It was just stunning. It made you feel very, very small - it put you in your place.

“We slept by a bear. Nobody told us about the bear but after we woke up I was told it was there.”

Mr Flynn also praised his team of Mike Kloser, Anna Jones and Chris Paisley, who were in second ‘for the majority’ of the race, but ended up finishing last. He says the group were forced to stop at some stages because they could not do white water rafting in the dark or cross glaciers at night due to safety risks, which impacted their time, despite it being far quicker than anticipated.

The team completed the race on just ten hours’ worth of sleep.

Mr Flynn has form when it comes to adventure racing - since his 2008 diagnosis he has raised nearly £70,000 for Parkinson's charities.

His journeys, which have seen him clock up 10 million metres' worth of racing, have included a 160-mile event across the Bavarian Alps, an Ironman distance triathlon to the wild Amazon jungle, and crossing 3,256 miles of the USA in 35 days.

His motivation is to raise awareness of the role of exercise in helping people manage their Parkinson’s, a condition which he said had a significant impact on his performance during Primal Quest.

Mr Flynn suffered his rib and spinal injuries during a stint on a ‘brutal mountain biking trail’, when he repeatedly came off his bike after losing power in his right arm and struggling to brake.

But the father-of-three is expecting to make a full recovery and says his three boys ‘think I’m amazing – which is really nice.’

He added: “Parkinson’s is not the end. [This race] should give everybody with Parkinson’s hope.”

Mr Flynn now plans to do a trial marathon in November, if his injuries allow, before becoming the first Parkinson’s sufferer to climb Mount Everest – “to put Parkinson’s on top of the world.”

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/alexflynnpq18