A RAF corporal undertook a brutal running challenge to raise money for a charity very close to his heart.
Andy Price, an armourer at RAF Lossiemouth, completed a mammoth 220-mile run from Lossiemouth to Glasgow in just seven days.
Alongside his friend Gary Bell, Cpl Price raised £6,000 for Ronald McDonald House, a national charity with a big connection to him.
When Cpl Price’s son Callum was born in Elgin he needed suffered complications and was airlifted to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
It was there he underwent a life-saving operation.
During the three months that Callum remained in intensive care, Callum’s family was assisted greatly by Ronald McDonald House which supplies a home from home for families with poorly children in hospital.
The charity provides free accomodation for as long as a family requires.
Cpl Price and his wife were forced to frequently travel back and forth from Glasgow and had to spend a lot of nights away from home at his son’s bedside.
As a thank-you to the charity Cpl Price and Mr Bell set out to complete the “big run” in seven different stages of around 32 miles a day.
They raised more than £6,000 – double what they had hoped to achieve in the first place.
They both suffered on the way, with unexpected warm weather taking its toll.
He said: “The run went well. It was hard, but we expected it to be hard. The biggest factor to affect us was the weather – it was so consistently hot and sunny. After three days of temperatures of 30 degrees we started to suffer with a bit of heat stroke and struggled to keep any liquid down and eat any food.
“Given Scotland’s climate we couldn’t foresee or prepare for that and it was comfortably the biggest problem we faced.”
However, he said that the pain was well worth the money that he had earned for the charity.
“We managed to raise just over £6000 which we’re delighted with. We’re relieved and delighted to have completed our Big Run. Despite the blisters, heat stroke and tired legs it was worth every second to have made a difference to sick kids and their families,” he added.
“The trauma of the events with Callum coupled with him being in hospital over 200 miles away was naturally a struggle.
“During what was an incredibly distressing and anxious time for our family, the situation was made infinitely better by the wonderful staff and volunteers at the House.”
The 220 mile run began in Lossiemouth on May 26 and ended at Ronald McDonald House in Glasgow on June 1, with the route taking the pair along the Great Glen Way and The West Highland Way.
Donations can still be made via www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/thebigrun-2018