Loch Ness Marathon
Scottish team successfully completes GamesAid fundraiser, with post-race sponsorship still invited.
The team of five from Dundee's computer gaming industry all successfully completed the Loch Ness Marathon yesterday. The goal was simply to finish and to raise money for GamesAid, but everyone also managed to complete it without serious injury, and with highly respectable times:
Hugh Malan, 34, completed in 3h 41m 54s. Colin Macdonald, 36, completed in 3h 58m 32s. Andy Elder, 36, completed in 3h 58m 32s. Rory Kelly, 22, completed in 4h 27m 12s. Paul MacGillvray, 23, completed in 4h 53m 10s. Colin Macdonald said of the race "We're all immensely proud of the achievement. Thankfully traditional Scottish weather kept us cool and damp for much of the race, but we all started to feel the pain at about the 15 mile point and it involved digging very deep just to keep on going. Despite the hilly nature of the course, it was a beautiful route alongside Loch Ness, and one we'll look forward to seeing when we can focus on the scenery a bit more - preferably from the comfort of a warm car!"
The team have so far raised over £1,000 for GamesAid, and are hoping to increase that to £2,000 with post-race sponsorship from the many that doubted they could do it, donations can be made at http://www.justgiving.com/ScottishGamesLochNessMarathon2010. GamesAid is an umbrella fund which distributes the money it receives to children and young persons charities around the UK, with a focus on small-to-medium charities rather than the better funded larger charities. Further information on GamesAid is available at www.gamesaid.org
Colin Macdonald said of the challenge "Many of us have found ourselves with more time on our hands than we expected, so it's good to be able to channel that into such a worthy cause as GamesAid. We're a little nervous about how hilly the course is going to be - we're not sure how good training the Law Hill is going to prove. But hopefully as well as raising money for a great cause this helps reinforce that the games industry in Dundee is alive and kicking."