Wallacestone man ran four miles every four hours over weekend to support Mary's Meals

Wallacestone resident David Robertson 31, took on the Goggins 4x4x48 Challenge to raise money for Mary’s Meals.

David dedicated his fundraising mission to his late dad, Douglas, who was a fervent supporter of the organisation, raking in more than £100,000 on its behalf over his lifetime via talks at local clubs and events.

The challenge – devised by former Navy SEAL David Goggins – was one the construction project manager stumbled across online.

Due to become a father next month, David decided he wanted to do “something stupid” prior to the baby’s arrival and set his heart on completing the extreme test of endurance.

He began training for the event in lockdown and clocked up 500 kilometres in the process.

His Goggins Challenge began at 10am on Friday and ended at 6.45am on Sunday.

David, who has so far raised £2500, was joined by various members of family and friends on his runs and revealed the company helped to spur him on to success and was thrilled to report all had gone “according to plan”.

He said: “I completed the challenged and was as tired as I expected to be!

“I’m due to become a dad in the middle of June and I said to my wife, Clare, ‘I fancy doing something stupid before the baby arrives’.

“I said, ‘Let’s target mid-May’. I’ve trained for ten to 12 weeks and I’ve done about 500km, which was a bit of a shock to my body!

“My dad, who passed two years ago, did lots of work for Mary’s Meals. He raised a lot of cash for them through volunteering.

“I was absolutely delighted when I crossed the finish line at 6.45am.

“I could then collapse into bed for a few hours and then get myself out to be with family and friends, with a grand total of five hours’ sleep.

“A few of my friends had made a wee bet with me about my times so I managed to better them and that upped the sponsorship. I’ll leave the page open for a week or two.”

Sharing his feelings ahead of last weekend’s fundraiser, he said: “I’m looking forward to it and really hoping I can do it.

“I’m a bit apprehensive. I’ve done a load of training but I've never run through the night and kept running the next day in training.”

Given that it only costs Mary’s Meals £15.90 to feed a schoolchild for a year in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean, David knows his efforts will benefit those desperately in need.

He added: “A massive thanks to everyone who donated, my support network, friends who ran with me and Braes Trailers Running Club.

“I had to do a couple of runs myself and there’s no doubt I wouldn’t have been able to complete if if I had to do it all myself.”

To make a donation, visit the fundraising page.

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