Summit to be proud about

Hamilton’s Jamie Neill has raised just over £3500 for Alzheimer Scotland after completing a five-legged challenge to mark turning 35.

‘Five for 35’ saw Jamie embark on a solo West Highland Way, 96-mile walk from Milngavie to Fort William.

He then took part in Bravehearts Boxing Gym’s ‘Scotsathlon’ which was a 1.5-mile swim across Ben Lomond, 974-metre hike up Ben Lomond and a 50-mile cycle round Ben Lomond.

Jamie then completed 40 Munro mountains in a seven-day period, most of them with climbing partner Kyle Longmuir, before finishing a 160-mile cycle from Mallaig to Hamilton.

The 35-year-old is just back from the final challenge, hiking up three peaks in Morocco – M’goun, Ouanoukrim and Toubkal, in eight days, with Three Peaks Africa and Iona Adventuring.

Jamie is pleased to have completed the challenge, and would do it all again.

“I would do it again, absolutely” said former Scottish badminton internationalist Jamie. “I would like to think up something that gets me out of my comfort zone and isn’t really the norm.

“I do a lot of hillwalking but it’s putting it into a challenging context, and going beyond what is the normal weekend or the normal experience of hiking, so I’m glad I pushed myself in ways that I didn’t know if I would make it or not.

“A lot of people have taken inspiration from it – I’ve had amazing messages from people, and whether it’s getting people to get up and go for their first mountain, or just to get fitter, that has been a wee side goal for me.

“I was a bit unsure about what to expect on a lot of these challenges. I was confident at the time, but also a lot of things could have gone wrong, and I kind of got away with it in full health, so that’s a big boost.

“Preparation is important – it’s hard to wing these things and anybody that does is probably going to struggle, and I was able to put a lot of my own time into it and make sure I was ready for Morocco, and ready for the 40 Munros and stuff. I learned about my own will-power.

“I smashed the target, and I’m delighted. I’m happy to help such an important charity. I was able to get a signal in Morocco so I knew I had hit the £3500, and that was a big weight off my shoulders. That was the second target that I had raised it to, and that was a big sense of satisfaction, there wasn’t the added pressure of trying to meet a target.”