Weaving across Scotland’s stunning natural landscape, the attraction of the West Highland Way stretches well beyond the 96 miles it covers between Milngavie and Fort William.
Leon Hunter from Monifieth can also now proudly claim to have met the challenge but did not get much time to enjoy the spectacular beauty as he did it in a marathon 26-hour, 33 minute-assault on the testing route.
The bar supervisor’s weary legs are now recovering from this week’s effort, which 37-year-old Leon tackled in a tribute to his late father, Jim, following the popular Arbroath High School teacher’s untimely death from prostate cancer in April at the age of 61.
Leon is on target to raise £1,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support through the solo endurance event, a thank-you to the charity for the support they gave his father during his illness.
Last night Leon was back behind the bar of the Fisherman’s Tavern in Broughty Ferry, where he admitted having left behind a tinge of disappointment over not having completed the route in his 24-hour target time.
“I wanted to do it in a day and I knew about some of the toughest parts before setting off but there were other bits that were a lot more difficult than I thought they would be,” he said.
“The last section is all on road and I thought I could run a bit but the legs had just stopped working by then.
“Having had time to reflect I’m now quite proud of having done it in that time, given some of the climbs you have to complete,” added the former Royal Marines reservist.
The very personal reason for tackling the challenge was, Leon admitted, a constant spur in the hours of darkness and when the terrain got tough.
“When my head was going down and I needed to pick things up a bit I just remembered why I was doing it,” he said.
Leon is continuing to raise money for Macmillan through his www.justgiving.com/jimhunter sponsorship page.