A Fife runner recovered from injury to complete the same gruelling route 31 days in a row in aid of Kirkcaldy Foodbank.
James Stewart lost a stone-and-a-half as he ran the Last Duel Trail Race course every day in July.
And the 56-year-old attracted quite a following as members of his running group turned out in force to support him.
On his final day, 45 people ran alongside him as he marked £1,800 of donations.
He said: “I had people running with me all the way through the challenge just to spur me on.
“It was amazing.”
‘Brutal’ challenge delayed due to injury
James, from Kirkcaldy, is a member of Kirkcaldy Wizards running group.
He also organises the annual Last Duel Trail Race, which runs through Cardenden woods – the site of Scotland’s last fatal duel in 1826.
It was fought between linen merchant David Landale and his banker George Martin following an argument about money.
This year’s race takes place on September 24 and James says the last duel trail course is brutal.
“It’s just under six miles, it’s mostly in the woods and a lot of it is uphill,” he said.
James originally intended to complete the challenge every day in June.
However, he suffered a cruciate injury in March which took a while to heal.
“I went to the gym and did a lot of strengthening exercises to build myself up,” he said.
“Come July 1, I was 15 stone but by the 31st, I was 13-and-a-half.”
Last Duel became the Lost Duel
James’s first ever race was the London Marathon, which he completed without any training in 1999.
However, he’s been running seriously since 2012.
And he and his fellow Wizards intend to keep raising money for the foodbank.
“I’ve heard so many horror stories lately. It’s unbelievable,” he said.
“People are in work and are still having to use the foodbank.
“We’re going to hold more events and nights out to help them out.”
Meanwhile, James is in the process of organising this year’s Last Duel Trail Race.
“We’ve been doing the race since 2019, although 2021 ended up the Lost Duel as someone went the wrong way and everybody else followed!” he said.
“There are 150 people signed up this year and we have a few more places for anyone who wants to join in.”
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