Running fanatic prepares for Everest Marathon by scaling Scottish mountains

Ron Moore

Iron man Stevie Kidd is gearing up for his Everest Marathon challenge — by running up a string of Scottish mountains.

Proud Buddie Stevie, 47, is pushing to peak fitness before taking on the toughest marathon race in the world with a punishing summer training regime on the Bens of his native land.

The Glenburn dad has been taking on the 2,900ft Ben Arthur, also known as The Cobbler, 3,196ft Ben Lomond, and is about scale 4,411ft Ben Nevis, as he builds up his stamina for the biggest challenge of his life.

Stevie is only 107 days away from beginning his Himalayan adventure, which starts at 17,000ft at Gorak Shep, next to Everest base camp, and finishes at Namche Bazaar at 11,300ft in Nepal.

The perilous, high- altitude course will test him to the limit, and also includes a three- week acclimatisation programme in preparation for the race.

The Everest Marathon begins on November 8 and takes him through to December 5, but there is no stopping the self-employed business coach, who is tackling the ultimate challenge to raise vital cash for military heroes Combat Stress.

He said: “I have had to change my working pattern to accommodate the amount of training in preparation for the Everest Marathon.

“I used to work from early in the morning until 9pm or 10pm, but I have scale it back to only 30 hours to make room for the extra training.

“My coach, Casey, sat down with me and told me just how hard the Everest event is, and what kind of pain I will suffer, so he’s really explained to me what lies in store.

“Just there on Monday I ran The Cobbler, I am doing Ben Lomond, Conic Hill and will take on Ben Nevis next week, as I step up my running regime.

“I know there is nothing like the Everest Marathon as it is the hardest running challenge in the world, so my preparations are really all about my pushing myself just that little bit harder each day.”

Stevie, who was a non-runner until three years ago, has already racked up a string of amazing achievements.

He recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, then ran the Kilimanjaro Marathon directly after his ascent.

He also successfully completed the Great Wall Marathon in China, seen by many runners as the third hardest marathon in the world.

The proud husband to Lesley, 49, and doting dad to son Ryan, 15, also completed four gruelling runs last Christmas in the USA when he did a 5k, 10k, half-marathon and the full Disney Marathon in Florida.

He added: “When I had finished Kilimanjaro I felt in tremendous pain, so I have taste of what it’s like, but, as long a guy like me can achieve things like this, then I hope I can inspire others in my home town of Paisley to get out and be all they can.

“There’s a great quote by US president John Quincy Adams, ‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, become more, you are a leader.’

“That just about sums up the way I feel.”

Stevie is raising cash for Combat Stress, a mental health charity caring for veterans, providing free specialist clinical treatment and welfare support to ex-servicemen and women across the UK.

Next year, he is gearing up for the burning desert trek across the Sahara Desert — the Marathon Des Sables — once he has conquered Everest.

He is on a five-year mission to tackle the world’s toughest race events before he turns 50, but says Everest will be “greatest of them all”.

If a guy like me can achieve this, then I hope I can inspire others Stevie Kidd