Tough as it comes

His 15 ultramarathons

A Strathaven man has tackled his fifteenth ultramarathon.

Craig Hamilton completed the 95-mile West Highland Way Race on Saturday, June 24 with a time of 21 hours and 41 minutes – a personal best by 31 minutes.

The 47-year-old has previously completed marathons in cities across the world, such as London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.

He progressed onto triathlon and double Ironman events, which have seen him complete swim, cycle and run circuits of up to 280 miles.

The dad of two, who works for a Glasgow-based print services company Xeretec, started running ultra distances in 2010, after acting as a friend’s support runner in the West Highland Way Race a total of seven times.

Since then, Craig has worked tirelessly to take part in and finish 15 ultramarathons, including the 53-mile Highland Fling Race and the worldfamous Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc (UTMB).

Craig said: “When I started my role at Xeretec two years ago, most of my colleagues thought I was joking when I explained that I run ultra distances, as they’d never heard of somebody running such long distances. The team I work with are very supportive and are always keen to hear about my next adventure.

“Training for ultramarathons is intense, but extremely important, as I would never want to go in unprepared. I love the balance I have in my life, so I’m very lucky to have a very understanding wife and family. On average, I tend to run 70 miles per week.”