A veteran is putting his endurance training to the test to help raise thousands of pounds in support of the NHS.
Kenny Simm, originally from Shetland, served in the Royal Marines for 10 years as a Corporal with the Anti-Tank Troop.
Now living in Haddington in East Lothian, the 37-year-old father-of-one is continuing to work amid the lockdown as an engineer at the Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility in East Lothian.
With dozens of people adopting challenges to help raise money for the NHS, Mr Simm is preparing to do his bit for the cause, by scaling an eight metre rope in his back garden for 48 hours straight.
He said: “I think this outweighs anything I have done before. I have not had any prior training to this. I have not been on the ropes for more than a year so I have just really come up with this and just gone for it.”
Mr Simm will set off from 6am today scaling the rope in three hour stints aiming to reach the height of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.
The veteran touched on some of the challenges which lie ahead.
He said: “I think the biggest challenge will be the pain on the arms. After about an hour and a half, I will start to get tendonitis in my arms and experiencing cramps so I will be trying to work through that and keep going.
“After 12 hours I think the tiredness will start kicking in and I’ll just have to try and keep going and get my fuel and supplements right with hydration, energy gels and energy bars, just to keep going.
“I’m just going to put some music on and go for it. I’ll try and not set off at too fast a pace and just pace it.”
An online crowdfunding appeal was launched in the weeks prior to the challenge, with hopes of raising £1,000 for the health board.
However, he has already surpassed his target with more than £1,800 already raised for his cause.
He added: “My mother-in-law has dedicated 35 years to the NHS and my sister-in-law is working in the Covid ward in Edinburgh and in speaking to her on the phone and hearing how tough it is, with wearing all the PPE, working the long shifts in the heat inside the hospital and then live in separate rooms from her husband, it must just be a nightmare.
“I just want to say a massive thank you to the NHS for all the work they are doing.”
