‘It’s a bit of an unknown’: Runner from John O’Groats set for end-to-end ultra challenge
Ultra-runner David Mowat admitted he was feeling “jittery” on the eve of a gruelling 17-day challenge from Land’s End to his home village of John O’Groats.
The 41-year-old former footballer is taking part in the MTC (Mount to Coast) LEJOG which involves covering approximately 50 miles a day.
It begins on Friday and, all being well, David will reach the end of the road on Sunday, October 12.
He is raising money for two charities, one local and the other international – the John O’Groats playpark project, in memory of Julie McGee, and Medical Aid for Palestinians.
David says he is “blown over” by the generosity of those who have made donations. Having set a target of £5000, he has raised more than £2500 so far through his GoFundMe page.
“I’ve done marathons and ultra-marathons before, and beforehand you always get a bit jittery,” he said. “I would say I’m more jittery about this because it’s a bit of an unknown.
“My plan at the moment is to start very slowly. It’s an organised event and the advice from people that have done it previously has always been to start slow and build up.
“There’s a minimum to finish each day by, and if you don’t finish by that time then you’re out, basically.”
When asked if he had been training hard, David admitted: “Probably not as hard as I would have liked. I’ve just started another job, so there’s a lot happening at the moment.
“I did the Edinburgh Marathon earlier this year, and I’m relatively fit anyway, but it’s a different kettle of fish doing a massive run like this. Over and over each day you’re doing 50 miles.
“I’ve never been able to train doing 50 miles a day for several days so I won’t know how my body is going to cope with it.
“Every year this event happens and there are maybe seven or eight people that do it and each year there are only one or two that actually finish it.”
The runners will stay overnight in hotels at designated stops. “I think I’ll sleep like a baby after doing so much running during the day,” David said.
David was made redundant recently from his job as a senior engineer at the Grangemouth oil refinery. At the start of September he began working in a similar role for the Oil and Pipelines Agency and is grateful to his new employers for allowing him to take time off for the run.
David and his wife Anne-Marie live near Edinburgh with daughter Molly (8) and son Flynn (6). He remains very much connected to John O’Groats, though.
“I lived all my life in John O’Groats until I was 17 years old and it’s still a place that I call home,” he said.
As a footballer David played as a defender for Cowdenbeath and Forfar Athletic as well as Wick Academy.
He added: “I’m blown over by the generosity of a lot of people. It has been fantastic.”
In a message on his fundraising page, David says: “I am embarking on one of the toughest challenges of my life, aiming to complete the Land’s End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) Ultra Run, covering 854 miles in just 17 days. This means averaging 50 miles a day without any rest days.
“It’s definitely going to be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but I’ll be driven on by the hope that I’ll be raising funds for really worthwhile causes.”