A MAN aiming to run an ultramarathon in every Scottish council area over the course of 32 days has described the Inverclyde leg of his challenge as a ‘make or break’ moment.
Chris Thomson, 34, has been covering 33 miles in a different local authority jurisdiction every day since June 5.
He has undertaken the challenge in a bid to raise funds for several causes, including mental health, motor neurone disease and dementia charities.
Chris’ main reason for taking on the fundraising effort was the loss of a close friend, Hamish, who died two years ago aged just 33.
He told the Tele: “It took me to a pretty dark place if I’m honest.
“Ever since then I’ve sort of soul searched myself.
“I was working in London for a big technology company but I’ve always done lots of adventuring on the side and charity work.
“I’ve always loved pushing the body and the mind, which I’m certainly doing that at the moment.”
Chris - from New Galloway - believes that, if successful, he will be the first person to conquer such a challenge.
He began the effort in the Western Isles earlier this month, before travelling to Orkney and Shetland – where he faced hail, sleet and cold winds.
Chris arrived in Inverclyde off the back of his Shetland run, with flight times meaning he had a limited period to complete his miles for the day.
He said: “The only flight I could get out of Shetland was landing in Glasgow at 2:40pm.
“I needed to get that run done before midnight.
“It had been taking me about ten hours to run the others because of the hills and the weather, and I only had eight hours to do this one.
“I set off at 4pm, so it was head down and I finished at 11:45pm in Gourock.
“It was genuinely like winning the World Cup.”
Chris was joined by brother Nick for the last few miles of his Inverclyde run, with his mum Raewyn travelling up to offer support too.
Gourock decathlete Jonathan Cameron also completed part of the run with him.
Chris said: “Typical west coaster, he just chatted my ear off and it was exactly what I needed.
“I don’t think he had run over 10k in his life and he stayed with me for 19 miles.
“It was quite the day to be honest.
“Going from Armageddon in Shetland to flat and sunny, it was genuinely a joy.
“If it hadn’t been somewhere like Inverclyde, I wouldn’t have done it.
“That was a make or break day really. Inverclyde was a very important part of the challenge.”
The money raised during Chris’ challenge will be split between seven charities: Mind, Movember, the MND Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, Maggie’s, Dementia UK and the British Heart Foundation.
He has so far gathered almost £15,000 in donations. To make a contribution, go to givewheel.com.
To keep up-to-date with his journey, follow @tourdethomo on Instagram.
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