Trio’s tough challenge to honour late friend

Three pals in training to take on Stevenson Way in poignant tribute to fellow hiker who died in February

Three runners are in solitary training before uniting to honour their late friend by taking on the gruelling Stevenson Way.

The trio have already surpassed their original £2,500 target and are now aiming to raise £5,000 for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) by running the 230-mile route from the island of Erraid to Edinburgh.

The feat is in memory of their friend and fellow hiker Dougie Walker, who was a prolific fundraiser for the charity.

Before his untimely death in February, plans had been made to raise funds by taking on the Stevenson Way.

Now his friends, Dunfermline business analyst Stuart Kennedy, 35, Neil Winstanley, 37, from Ayr and Witold Gawlikowicz, 30, from Warsaw, have decided to carry on in his memory.

As they all live so far away from each other, they are training individually before meeting up to complete the challenge, which they hope to complete in seven days, averaging one and a half marathons every day and ascending the equivalent of Mount Everest.

The Stevenson Way is a unique wilderness track across the heart of Scotland, which is based on real historical events depicted in the Robert Louis Stevenson classic Kidnapped.

Chartered financial planner Neil said: “From the start of this year we had been planning to do this challenge and to raise funds for CHAS, a charity very close to Dougie’s heart.

“It seems right that we do it for him.” Stuart added their friend had seized every chance to be out in the wild – and also loved to read.

“He particularly enjoyed Kidnapped. “When I asked him for suggestions for a challenge physically demanding enough that we could convince people to part with their hard-earned money, he came up with this,” Neil said.

The intrepid trio will sleep on a beach before the start of their adventure on August 31.

They hope to be on Corstorphine Hill in Edinburgh by September 6.

CHAS community fundraiser Fiona Leslie said: “We are honoured that Neil, Stu and Witold are so determined to see through their friend Dougie’s idea.

“It’s a lovely tribute and we owe all four of them a debt of gratitude for everything they’ve done and continue to do to raise money for CHAS.

“The Stevenson Way is a big and physically demanding challenge, we wish their legs all the best.”

In Scotland, nearly 16,000 children and young people live with lifeshortening conditions.

The charity works across Scotland, providing hospice services, palliative, respite and end-of-life care.

The donation page, set up in honour of Dougie, can be found at justgiving. com/fundraising/walkersrun2