Self-isolating rugby star Kaleem Barreto is running a solo marathon at his Tayside home in honour of frontline health heroes.
The Scotland 7s international player decided to take on the gruelling 26-mile challenge without training, to highlight how those suffering with the coronavirus and mental health problems have been similarly unprepared.
The run in the back garden of his family’s Dundee home will raise money for NHS Charities Together.
The 21-year-old, who is currently contracted to Stade Nicois in France, said: “We have had a couple of family members who have been affected by coronavirus, so I wanted to do something to show our support.
“I wanted to do this without any training to reflect the idea that people who have been affected by the virus also didn’t have any chance to prepare.
“I’ve spoken to a friend who did a marathon last year, and he said he trained for about three months, four times a week.
“So zero training does sound a bit crazy. I have a good level of fitness, having been in training as a professional rugby player, but I am very much not a natural runner.
“In fact I don’t think I have ever run for more than 40 minutes before so the prospect of running for four hours is something I am not taking lightly. I’m not sure how it is going to affect my body.”
Mr Barreto, a former pupil of Glenalmond College in Perth, was cheered on throughout the challenge by other members of his family.
“It was all quite last minute, but I guess that is reflective of the idea. I had toyed with this thought a fair bit, as I had always admired people accomplishing great milestones in their own personal journeys, yet I had never known what sort of feat to attempt.”
He said: “I wanted to just start the run, without a planned route, and see how I can adapt on the fly, with no clue of the consequences and just solely focused on completing the mileage.”
Staff at Glenalmond College say they were delighted to hear about Kaleem’s efforts and sent him their best wishes.
Donations can be made via the Kaleem Barreto page on Justgiving.com
