An Aberdeenshire man has topped off a gruelling 1,200-mile cycle through five countries by running with the bulls at an iconic Spanish festival.
Tom Robertson, of Drumoak, set off from his native Scotland last month with the aim of reaching Pamplona in Spain in time for the annual San Fermin Festival.
The prosthetic and orthotics student at Strathclyde University took on the gargantuan challenge – which included pedalling through the Pyrenees mountains – for an Indian amputee charity, Mutki.
He succeeded in raising £1,500 and to top it all off on his arrival in the stunning Navarre city he took on the world-famous bull running challenge not once, but three times, coming within inches of the animals’ horns.
Still exhausted from his huge journey through Scotland, Wales, England, France and Spain – he said running with the beasts was the “best fitness motivation” he could possibly have asked for.
Speaking on his arrival home in Deeside, Mr Robertson, 22, added: “The feeling afterwards is incredible, an adrenaline rush like no other.
“There is absolutely nothing like it, waking up every day to the bull run and all the people and the intensity.”
He said the biggest obstacle for him was the sweltering heat of France – which reached 39C one day and led to serious exhaustion and even sun stroke.
The trip started in Paisley on June 16 with cycling partner John Grose, 19, and the pair were in Pamplona in time for the festival, which began on July 5.
Former Banchory Academy pupil, Mr Robertson, said: “The Pyrenees weren’t actually as bad as they could have been, by that point my legs had just got used to that challenge.
“Actually the most challenging part was the temperature in France. I had to change my cycling plan between Britain and France and Spain. I had to take the afternoons off and break for an hour.
“Apart from that it was just an addictive thing, waking up and heading further south.
“One important thing from the trip is that every time something went wrong -I was always helped by some stranger. There was always someone there willing to help.”
His personal highlight was unintentionally rolling into the French town of Soulac-Sur-Mer during a biker’s convention, flanked by a motorcycle crew with antlers on their helmets.
Mr Robertson said: “Everyone was just going mental. I was being cheered into town with hundreds and hundreds of bikers.”
