A football star who played for Scotland, Leicester City and Everton will swap his football boots for running shoes when he competes in the Simplyhealth Great Aberdeen Run on August 27.
Ian Wilson, 58, has signed up to participate in the 10km event, which will start and finish on Union Street and take in many of the city’s key historic landmarks including Marischal College, the Castlegate and the Beach Ballroom.
Mr Wilson said: “Playing against England was an amazing event in my life and then a few days later I faced Brazil.
“If you could choose the two best countries to meet in your first internationals, it would have to be those two.
“When I go to the start of the 10km, there will still be adrenaline there because you always want to do well.
“At the same time, it’s a bit of fun and you want to enjoy it, and I’m sure there will be a good bit of banter with the guys I’m running it with.
“Having said that, I am still a bit competitive.
“I always want to catch the next person ahead of me, whoever it might be, and when I do that, I focus on the next one.”
Mr Wilson has his wife Tracey to thank for getting him involved in running, but admits he has still to get into the full swing of training for August.
He added: “Tracey was a Scottish under-15 sprint champion many years ago, so she has always been very interested in running.
“She encouraged me to give it a go and I’ve done a few 10ks over the years, but I’ve still to get properly started with my preparations for August.
“I’ve done a few 5k runs so far, but I’ll be stepping it up towards the end of next month.”
