Last week we brought you the news that a group of 8 top ultra runners, headed up by Paul Giblin (@pyllon), were attempting to run a double West Highland Way as a relay at the weekend. That’s 192 hilly miles, from Milngavie to Fort William and back again. They were attempting to do it in under 24 hours, an incredibly tough target. The project is called Pyllon Endeavour.
The aim of Pyllon Endeavour is to raise awareness of the benefits of running and community to mental health and well-being. As Paul Giblin puts it:
“Ultra running is a difficult sport. And running 100-miles is said to be like living the many ups and downs of life in just one day. It has become our way of managing the stresses of everyday life and we know that running has the potential to help many others. The sport has done so much for each of us, so tackling this incredible challenge as a team, is our way of celebrating the challenges we face individually every day. And whatever the outcome, we know that the strength of our community will shine through”
As well as raising awareness they were also raising funds for local charity, SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health).
So, how did it go? The team set off at 4pm on Friday and they encountered some challenges along the trail which resulted in adding some extra distance. They reached the halfway point in under 12 hours but they were up against their target the whole way, proving what a tough challenge it was. They finished in 24.06, an astounding time for 192 miles. But it wasn’t even really about a time in the end. These runners put it all on the line, every one of them was at their limit, giving it their all, and people came from far and wide to offer support.
Pyllon Endeavour succeeded in what it set out to do – it raised awareness of mental health issues, it raised over £9000 (so far) for SAMH, it showed what an incredible, supportive thing the running community is and it showed what people are capable of when united by a common goal. Congratulations to the runners:
- Paul Giblin
- James Stewart
- John Connolly
- Graham Connolly
- Marco Consani
- Chris Cowley
- Robert Turner
- Eoin Lennon
You can still donate to the charity. Please support this incredible acheivement by donating HERE
You can also support Pyllon Endeavour just by talking. As they say on their website: “We are trying to encourage people to open up and talk about their feelings. So please talk more, and be prepared to listen to those that need to be heard. Remember people often say that they are ok as an automatic reaction – they may not be!”
