A HILL OF BEATH man has raised almost three times his target for local foodbanks after completing a 14.1-mile charity challenge.

Scott Johnstone ran the distance between Benarty and Dunfermline foodbanks on April 1, stopping at each branch along the way.

The effort was to raise funds for the good causes, as well as raising awareness.

His initial goal was to raise £500, but he smashed that target and has collected £1,420.

“I never thought it would raise anywhere near that amount,” he said.

“I thought the initial target of £500 was pushing it a bit, but to have almost three times that now is unbelievable.

“The generosity from everyone has been amazing and I can’t thank everyone enough!

“Donations to the foodbanks have been lower than usual recently so these donations will help massively.

“I’m already thinking about doing it again next year and hopefully make it a bigger event so others can take part to try and raise even more money.”

The 29-year-old is a volunteer at the Rosyth Foodbank, and trained hard for the run but hadn’t ran the route before completing the challenge last weekend.

He said: “The run actually went better than I was expecting.

“I hadn’t run the route before so I wasn’t totally sure how it would go and it turned out there wasn’t too many hills to run up which is always a bonus!

“I had a rough plan in place beforehand with what pace I should be running to keep going over the distance but I definitely had an extra boost of energy on the day and ended up finishing quite a bit quicker than I was aiming for.

“I finished at 14.1 miles in 2 hours and 14 minutes.

“The two hardest parts of the run were at the beginning and the end.

“The hill going up into Lochgelly and then the hill going from Rosyth into Inverkeithing, but I just had to get the head down and push through it.

“I found it quite interesting and also important to be running through the towns and villages that the five foodbanks support.

“It gave an extra sense of attachment between the run and the foodbanks and makes you think of the impact these donations will make.”

Completing the Race Against Hunger run in record time wasn’t easy, he added.

“I felt a few knocks and niggles along the duration of the run but I just put them to the back of my mind and with the help of the music I was listening to I was able to zone out a bit until I got to the finish,” Scott said.

“Walking the dog later that day wasn’t easy though!

“I’m really happy that I managed to finish and especially with a better time than I was expecting.

“It’s good to see that the training in the build up paid off.

Scott has been blown away by the support he has received, with the money raised going directly to the five Trussel Trust foodbanks in the local area, meaning that the funds donated will go right back into the community.

He added: “I’d just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who donated.

“It really did give me that extra push on the day!

“With the cost of living crisis we’re going through it’s understandable that donations to the foodbanks have been a bit lower than usual recently as everyone is feeling the pinch a bit more, so this boost will be a great help.

“If anyone would like to help the foodbanks going forward then donations are always welcome and the foodbanks are also looking for more volunteers if anyone can spare a few hours here and there, especially Benarty and Cowdenbeath foodbanks.

“Benarty, Dunfermline and Rosyth are open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 4pm to 6pm and Cowdenbeath and Inverkeithing are open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4pm to 6pm.”

• Scott’s JustGiving page is still live, so to donate to the cause, please visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rah-dunfermlinefb