Many people wouldn’t regard a four-mile walk as a gruelling ordeal.
But an Aberdeen man, who has raised thousands of pounds for charity, has just committed himself to what he describes as “the biggest challenge of his life”.
Paul Breen, a former train driver, suffered a serious brain aneurysm in 2010 and spent months in recovery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
It limited his mobility but hasn’t quashed his spirit and the fundraising efforts he has embarked upon to date saw him receive a BEM in the most recent Honours List.
Now, Mr Breen has launched himself into a new initiative and will take part in a charity walk to help bring the ARI staff garden venture to fruition.
However, as he told the Press and Journal yesterday, he doesn’t expect this challenge to be easy.
Mr Breen said: “I know this is going to be tough, but I will joined by my friend and personal trainer Karen Fyvie who has been preparing me since June for the attempt.
“All being well, I will be joined by Reverend James Falconer – the chaplain at ARI – and some of the nurses who looked after me during my time in hospital.
“The plan at the moment is to walk the entire length of the Beach Promenade and back by starting opposite the Beach Ballroom and walking to the Footdee end.
“Then, from there, we will go all the way down to the Windows statues at the Bridge of Don end before finishing at the Beach Ballroom again.
“That amounts to four miles, which will be the greatest distance I have attempted since being discharged from hospital in 2012.
“We are thinking of applying to do a street collection on the day.”
Mr Breen has already taken part in a series of activities to help bring the ARI Roof Garden plan to fruition.
He said: “You can’t overestimate the positive impact for patients of seeing nature come to bloom and having access to such a garden.
“James Falconer has been at the heart of the project and I want to pay tribute to the enormous impact he has made in lifting so many people’s spirits – including mine.”
The new fundraising challenge is expected to take place in July.