Footballershelpraisemorethan£2Kwith12“marathons”
Meetings resumeat racecourse thismonth
NICOLA FINDLAY
Two footballers from East Kilbride have ran up a total of more than £2000 for the NHS by taking on the equivalent of 12 marathons in a month.
Scott Forrest, 21, and school friend Cammy Fyfe, also 21, completed a ‘500k in May’ challenge to help raise cash for frontline staff.
Both Scott and Cammy have family and friends who work in the NHS and thought running would be a great way of keeping fit and active while football is suspended amid the pandemic and raise money for a good cause.
The boys, who play for local teams outside of their regular jobs, were overwhelmed by the response, with the total sitting at £2610.
Telecoms engineer Scott told the News: “We both play football and are always usually out and about doing something.
“And with no football at the minute we decided we needed something to keep us going and keep the fitness up.
“I am working from home and Cammy who is an electrician is furloughed at the minute.” The boys, who go out running together normally, have routes they take in and around East Kilbride.
A marathon is roughly 42k so the boys ran the equivalent of nearly 12.
“We both have got friends and family in the NHS so couldn’t think of a better cause to raise cash for,” Scott went on. We know how hard they work and what a fantastic job they do.”
The boys managed to cope fairly well with the tough ask and Scott added: “We thought the constant running might take it’s toll but it wasn’t too bad.
“I think because we normally do something every day anyhow that made it easier. Obviously this was a lot more than we would do normally though.
“But Cammy and I have known each other and been friends since school, although we went to different high schools in the town, so we kept each other going.”
Scott added: “We would like to thank everyone who has donated and we have raised far more than we expected.
“We are going to keep out fundraising page a wee bit longer if anyone would still like to donate.”
To support the boys, who both play for East Kilbride YM go to JustGiving and search for Scott and Cammys’ 500k in May for NHS.
Hamilton Park Racecourse is in line to help stage the resumption of Scottish horse racing behind closed doors in just a few weeks.
Scottish Racing is in talks with the Scottish Government over bringing back the sport this month.
Hamilton has been allocated June 24 by the British Horseracing Authority as part of 24 fixtures pending approval at Scottish tracks through June, July and August. The racecourse’s provisional fixtures include: Wednesday, June 24; Sunday, June 28; Friday, July 3; Sunday, July 12; and Thursday, July 16.
The course’s fixtures in August, including Boe Violet Gin Ladies’ Night and Ladbrokes Lanark Silver Bell Night, are still several months away, and therefore any bookings made for these meetings are still valid.
Hamilton Park said: “Given the unprecedented circumstances we are all facing at present, we’d like to ask our customers to maintain their support for Hamilton Park, as we, like so many businesses, face the incredible economic challenges that are ahead.”