Runners' 180-mile relay raises £1700 for Falkirk Foodbank

Road Trail Country (RTC) Warriors’ social distancing-compliant event saw 42 runners pound the pavements over a ten-hour period in aid of the charity, raising more than £1700.

The funds gathered through the relay on Saturday, May 16 will go towards supporting those who rely on the food bank to get by. On average, 6137 people, including 1892 children, receive a parcel from the Falkirk Foodbank every five days.

RTC Warriors drew inspiration from a Jog Scotland Denny Group fundraiser in devising their plan, which was orchestrated by Mark Sutherland.

With members sprawled out across the Central Belt, Mark faced a logistical challenge but, using the canals as the spine of the relay, he was able to come up with a route which suited all runners.

The relay was started at 7.30am by Fiona McFarlane who began running along the Forth and Clyde Canal from Kirkintilloch.

Handovers took place on average every 3.5 miles and branched out north and south of the canals across the area, reaching as far as Bo’ness and Linlithgow.

Wearing distinctive blue RTC Warriors shirts, runners could be seen winding their way through many of the villages in the district during the course of the day.

Mark said: “I was inspired by charity run by the Jog Scotland Denny Group run by Keith ‘The Jogfather’ McDevitt who is also a member of the Warriors and thought we should do something similar.

“These are challenging times and I am proud of the efforts of all the Warriors that took part and everyone that supported us by giving so generously.

“Running is good for the heart, running for charity is good for the soul. We hope our contribution in some small way will help alleviate a much bigger problem.”

For more information on Falkirk Foodbank, visit the website.