Marathon man - Local man Chris Drummond and his family

A local man, Chris Drummond, is planning to run the length of a marathon (26.2 miles) in Lanark on 4th October 2020. Chris will be undertaking the "biggest physical challenge of his life" in lieu of the 2020 London Marathon which, due to COVID-19, is now solely for elite athletes.

The route will take Chris from Hyndford Rd at 7am on the 4th of October and head out Whitelees Road crossing the railway line and into Caldwellside Ind Est, onto the A743 out through Ravenstruther, onto Ayr Rd and back into Lanark via the Racecourse and Lanark Loch returning to Hyndford Rd.  A 6 mile circuit he will run 4 times and then carryon up to the Racecourse and finish at Lanark Loch for the last 2.2 miles hoping to finish between 12pm and 12.30pm at the old boating pond. 

Friend of Chris, Iain Hughes commented: 

"You may or may not have the pleasure of knowing the local young man, husband and father that is Chris Drummond.  Chris is passionate about many things including his love of football and the Scottish National Team but nothing comes close to the passion and love for his family."

"Chris along with his brother, daughter, niece, cousin, uncle, and friends are all affected by Diabetes.  This is a condition that they all live with and are constantly required to monitor, act, treat, stay awake, don't eat, eat and watch family members bravely live with this chronic condition every day."

Last year Chris accompanied by a group of friends took on the 3 Peaks Challenge to raise money to help Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Following on from that challenge Chris wanted to do more and applied to take part in the London Marathon 2020. His application was accepted and he began training hard for the gruelling 26.2 mile journey!  The arrival of the Covid-19 Pandemic postponed the 40th London Marathon till later in the year with the hope that the virus would subside however this has not happened and only Elite level athletes will now take part.  Chris will be the first to admit that even he is not an Elite level athlete!

Chris is a determined individual though and despite this setback he has continued his training and will now completing his own Marathon locally! those who have witnessed how much Diabetes impacts him from a mental, motivational and physical perspective, first hand know it will be a monumental challenge for him and as he said recently an epic battle between mind, body and balancing diabetic control."

Chris and a number of his close family members live with type 1 diabetes, so Chris will be raising funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) - a charity which supports people living with type 1 diabetes and looks to one day eridicate the condition for good. 

An online fundraising appeal is now live at - https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ChristopherDrummond3

Lanarkians who see Chris along his route are encouraged to give him a wave and welcome encouragement.

Good luck, Chris!