Kind Ben gets his running shoes on for charity

Schoolboy runs 120 miles in a month to raise more than £1000 for Macmillan Cancer Care

A young Plains schoolboy displayed gritty determination and impressive fitness to run a lung-busting 120 miles in a month for a great cause.

Ben Paterson, a first-year pupil at Caldervale High, raised more than £1000 for Macmillan Cancer Care by completing the charity’s December Marathon Challenge.

Ben lost his beloved grandfather James Paterson last April to cancer, aged just 62. And just a few weeks ago, his uncle Tom Paterson had a cancerous kidney removed.

The dedicated 12-year-old ran 5k every day last month – including Christmas Day – and finished off in style with a 10k on Hogmanay.

His delighted dad Graeme, who ran alongside Ben, told the Advertiser: “We’re really very proud of him – although we don’t tell him that in case his head gets too big!

“Ben wasn’t really a runner before. He had done a few 5ks with me and a couple of years ago he did the Edinburgh Marathon 5k Challenge. He even got his 5k running time down to just 27 minutes.

“Towards the end of the month the weather worsened and it was pretty snowy and icy but despite that Ben ploughed on. He’s not a quitter, so he was never going to stop and even in those conditions he still gave it 100 per cent effort.

“Once he puts his mind to something he doesn’t give up until it’s done.”

Graeme explained that Ben wanted to give something back to Macmillan for all the fantastic work the charity does.

And Ben’s four-figure fundraising total greatly surpassed the family’s original expectations.

Graeme explained: “We initially set the target on the Justgiving page at £200 and that was reached within about an hour, so we put it to £500 and ended up raising over double with just really friends and family through Facebook, which is incredible.

“We’d like to thank everyone for their kindness, their giving, and their encouragement.”

Ben is no stranger to fundraising, having previously raised money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, another organisation close to his heart as his grandfather also had MS.

The young fitness fan has already set his sights on his next sporting challenge – cycling more than 1000 miles this year after completing 1000km in 2020.

After his daily December efforts, who’d bet against committed Ben achieving his latest goal?

Proud dad Graeme highlighted how not even the wintry weather stopped his son Ben from completing his runs

Sensational supportben’s dad Graeme ran alongside him