The Proclaimers famously sang about walking 500 miles, but a Perth dad is going one better by running it.
To mark the countdown to his 40th birthday, Alan Glynn has set himself the ambitious challenge of completing 100 races.
With only a handful completed already, the 33-year-old will have to take part in around 14 marathons, half-marathons and short distance events each year to meet his target.
He won’t be going it alone, however, as he has recruited 32 people into Team Alexis Rose, set up in memory of his 19-month-old daughter, who died after contracting meningitis two years ago.
Gordon McCabe, Padraig O’Flaherty and Thomas Gray will join the proud father in less than two weeks for his very first 26-mile run the London Marathon on April 21.
Alan hopes this will help the Alexis Rose Fund smash through the £50,000 barrier and provide vital support for the Meningitis Trust charity.
“This whole project has really taken off and is going really well,” he said.
“At the moment, we are sitting at around £47,000 but I am raising the target all the time and I don’t think it will take us long to hit £100,000.
“I’ve got people running all over the world on behalf of Team Alexis Rose, including in China, Dublin and Edinburgh.”
His wife Ruth and their children will be in London to support Alan, who will don a specially-printed top bearing the names of 90 people who have been affected by meningitis.
He told The Courier his goal was just to finish the run, rather than achieving an impressive time.
“I’m not doing this for me I’m doing it for Alexis, I’m doing it for everyone who’s been affected by meningitis and I’m doing it for my family,” he continued.
“I’m just going to enjoy it, because seven months ago I couldn’t even run a mile and now I’m running up to 18 miles a day. I’ve given up drinking, cigarettes and my real weakness cola, so this has been improving my health.
“I’ve also inspired other people to join Team Alexis and some of them have never entered a running event in their entire life.”
There will be no resting for Alan after he completes the London Marathon, as he has signed up to take part in a 13-mile run in Scone the following week.
The dedicated dad also unveiled a catalogue of events that will be taking place throughout the year. This includes the Tough Mudder Challenge a 12-mile obstacle course designed by the Special Forces climbing Ben Nevis, and organising the second Alexis Rose Memorial Cup football tournament, as well as spearheading the Perth and Kinross Youth Football Association festival for young sports stars.
Although he has been enjoying his foray into fitness, Alan admits that he has been feeling the burn.
He said: “When I first got into it, I felt like Superman, but when I hit a wall of fatigue, it just knocked me a little.
“That’s pretty hard, because one moment you feel like Rocky, and the next you’re Rocky when he’s 80. Some days I can run 17 to 18 miles without a problem, but then, on others, one mile can feel like 100.”
The memory of Alexis Rose keeps him going, however, as well as the desire to make his family proud and help others who have suffered because of meningitis.
“Our kids will look up when they’re older and, hopefully, when they hit a brick wall, they will say to themselves look what mummy and daddy did,” he added.
To donate to Alan’s cause, go online to meningitis-trust.tributefunds.com/fund/Alexis+Rose.