THE Benarty Iron Man is hanging up his helmet following a final fundraising run around Fife with the help of the Duloch Spiderman.

Since the beginning of lockdown in March, Iron Man has been running around central Fife to raise spirits as well as money, following a huge disappointment for him personally.

Speaking to the Times, he said: “This year was supposed to be a big year for me with regards to running.

“I had three ultra-marathons to run, including the West Highland Way race at a mere 96 miles. Basically, up until when the first lock down happened, I had trained hard and ran over 400 miles with the three races in mind.

“However, the races then started to get cancelled due to the pandemic. I think I was just a bit deflated after that if I'm honest - I had put all the effort in and then to just stop was hard to swallow.

“Around this time, I had seen that a guy from Dunfermline had started taking to the streets dressed as Spiderman (Duloch Spiderman) and it was amazing to see him cheering everyone up in such a difficult time.

“My wife had also noticed what Duloch Spiderman was doing and said: ‘You should do that for our community’.

“So that was it, I ordered the Iron Man suit and done my first run. Since April, I have run over 74 miles covering all the Benarty and Lochgelly areas and even made an appearance at the local gala day.

“The response from the kids (mini superhero's) and adults has been phenomenal and their generosity has meant that I was also able to raise some funds for our local foodbank.”

But for now, unfortunately, Iron Man will be taking a break from the streets of Fife.

He continued: “It's now six months since I ran my first Iron Man run and it's time to hang up the suit for now.

“I want to thank everyone - especially the kids - for their support.

“I also want to give a big shout out to the Duloch Spiderman for joining me for the final race, what he has achieved along with the other Dunfermline superheroes is nothing short of astonishing.”