SO CONFIDENT were Steven Kearney’s friends that he would not complete the Edinburgh Marathon in less than four hours, they promised to double his total sponsorship money if he did.

When Steven crossed the finishing line after three hours and 49 minutes, expecting to be greeted by his cheering friends, he was surprised to find that they had not even turned up—still sure of him clocking a longer time.

Steven (24), from Montrose, decided to run the marathon on behalf of the National Kidney Research Fund, as he suffers from polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a hereditary disorder that causes cysts to form in the nephrons of the kidneys.

Although this condition has little effect on Steven’s very active lifestyle at present, it is something that may have greater impact in the future.

Therefore, Steven chose to support the fund in the hope that advances in research may eventually result in a cure, or improved treatment options for PKD sufferers.

Prior to the race, Steven had spent six months in New Zealand where he climbed mountains and ran as part of his training.

“The race was hard work but I was delighted and relieved to finish in under four hours,” he said.

He was even able to manage a sprint finish across the last 100 metres—much to the bemusement of onlookers.

Steven has raised £700 so far for kidney research and is still open to sponsorship through the fund on 0800 7832973.