RUARIDH RUNS IN MEMORY OF PAL
RUNNING a marathon 220 miles above the Arctic Circle might not be the usual pre-season exercise.
But for Hampton & Richmond Borough’s Ruaridh Donaldson, the Tromso Midnight Sun Marathon was about even more than a personal challenge.
The 28-year-old Beavers’ defender is raising money in memory of family friend Duncan McLean.
Since his death in 2016 aged just 20, a wave of fundraising has totalled more than £145,000.
Having run the Edinburgh Marathon in 2019 to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity, Donaldson is this time bringing in sponsorship for Brain Research UK by completing the marathon in Norway a fortnight ago ahead of part two when he takes on the London Marathon in October.
Closing in on his initial £2,000 target, the money will go towards research into brain tumours, brain and spinal cord injury and headache and facial pain.
“Duncan was such a revered member of our community – his memory lasts long and it is continued by the fundraising efforts people are making in his name,” Donaldson said.
“For me, having done it previously, it made sense to combine these two events into a challenge for this year. The combination of two marathons alongside a football season is hopefully worth a couple of quid!
“We’re nearly up to £2,000 and hopefully over the next few months I can get up and over my goal. I’m fortunate my employer Deloitte are matching a percentage of the fundraising total.”
The popular full-back says Tromso was quite an experience with the run at summer solstice timed to finish around midnight with the sun still above the horizon.
“The Norwegian fans have a funny way of enthusiastically supporting you,” Donaldson laughs. “They shout ‘A-yo, A-yo’ in unison in the tempo of your running!”
With pre-season now underway and Gary McCann’s side hoping to have a positive season, Donaldson is careful with how he juggles football and running.
“The most important thing is recovery,” Donaldson says. “Immediately after games it’s eating the right things, taking the right supplements. Then in the three or four hours after a game, making sure I am stretching, in an ice bath or quite often I will sleep with recovery leggings on. If it’s on a Saturday and I’m out socially, it’s also making sure I’m not hampering that recovery. On a Sunday I often go for a swim – the cold water is quite good for recovery and then I can run on Monday before training on Tuesday.
“It can be difficult when we have two games a week because any additional running is probably detrimental to games so I try to limit it to running when we only have one game.”
Donaldson is convinced they have the makings of an excellent squad.
“The guys we’ve retained and signed certainly look as though they have the quality to play at this level and kick on,” Donaldson says.
“I think in our league particularly, you need guys who are comfortable and can perform week-in, week-out. But then you also have the three or four luxury players who can be brilliant one week and are looking to move up the leagues. From where I’m sitting it looks like we’ve got that balance.”