PICTURES: Charity runner Steven Mackay was back on his feet to run into Inverness after completing the North Coast 500 (NC500) raising £45,000 MFR’s Cash for Kids charity after travelling through Caithness
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A footballer turned ultra-distance adventurer managed to get back on track as he reached Inverness after he completed the route of the North Coast 500 (NC500).
Inverness-based Steven Mackay was dogged by injury during his fundraising attempt in aid of MFR’s Cash for Kids charity.
He set off from Inverness on Friday, May 20, and he was aiming to complete the circuit by running it in just 10 days.
However, midway through the attempt he injured his Achilles tendon and suffered from bad blisters on his feet due to running in the rain.
He managed to switch to a bicycle to ease the pressure on his feet – and by Sunday he managed to return to the Highland capital by running once again.
Mr Mackay was overjoyed to have completed the feat and said: “The NC500 Challenge is complete in 10 days – 516 miles and over 30,000ft elevation, which was 218 miles on foot and 298 miles on a bike.
“We have raised £45,000 which is incredible. Thank you to everyone who donated, your money will change the lives of children in the Highlands.”
He was aiming to raise £50,000 for the charity and by the end of his marathon effort he was just short of his target.
Last June, Mackay succeeded in raising more than £20,000 for Cash for Kids by running 104.8 miles non-stop from Wick to Inverness.
And, the year before, he completed an 80-mile dash from Inverness to Brora in around 18.5 hours, raising more than £17,000 for the same cause.
For the NC500 he was aiming to cover just over 50 miles – effectively two marathons each day – however when his injuries were at their worst the daily distances fell short of the mark.
The former Ross County midfielder and the Elgin City assistant manager was yesterday enjoying a well-earned rest.
Speaking before setting off, he said he wanted to see what was possible and how far he could push himself.
During the route his progress was also hampered when he snapped a chain on the bicycle he had been using and he was forced to switch to a mountain bike for the rest of the day.
The 40-year-old athlete’s dedication to endurance training is all the more impressive given personal circumstances.
Long training hours compete with his assistant manager’s role, family commitments and a full-time career which regularly takes him from his Inverness home to Dunfermline and Manchester.
