AN AMBITIOUS fundraiser has racked up quite a distance and a whole lot of medals as part of a drive to run 1,000 miles in the space of a year for a leading charity.

Robert Clarkson wants to raise £10k for NSPCC Scotland by taking in the Obstacle Course Scotland challenge, which has seen him clock up between 20 to 30 miles a week in the gym and on the road.

The Evening Times previously reported on the 37-year-old's ambition to help the charity after he volunteered for Childline as a volunteer last November.

He has now he has reached the halfway point of his challenge and has showed no signs of slowing down despite a hip injury.

The Glasgow Kelvin College lecturer has so far ran over 550 miles across 20 events including the Edinburgh marathon, whilst also clocking up additional miles on the treadmill at his Dalmarnock gym, and on the streets around his home at Oatlands Gate near the Gorbals.

The ex-army engineer has raised more than £1,300 so far but Robert said he is hoping to get more support as his campaign continues throughout the year.

He said: “After the Edinburgh Marathon I had an injury in my hip but I’m back on track. Hopefully that’s the worst out the way.

“I’ve had a good response to the fundraising and it has definitely kept me motivated. "The Edinburgh marathon was the hardest but seeing the sponsorship coming through has been a real boost.

“I managed to get a holiday in April and was off work for the summer so it’s been okay lately. The hardest thing is just trying to stay injury free. You have to do events back-to-back and recovery is very important but if you have just run an event and have no time off before the next one it’s very hard.”

Childline is a free, 24-hour helpline for children and young people ran by the NSPCC, the UK’s leading children’s charity.

The confidential service has two bases in Scotland including Glasgow which have delivered a combined total of more than 811,000 counselling sessions on everything from bullying to body image with children from across the UK since they were opened in 1990 and 2004 respectively.

Robert is determined to play is part in helping Childline continue that work and has vowed to fight through the pain to finish his challenge.

He said: “I’ve been surprised by how relentless it has been.

"Doing 1,000 miles a year works out at just less than three miles a day, every day for a year. On paper, once you’ve gone a few miles it doesn’t seem bad but if you miss a day it’s not long building up.

“Thankfully with what I do, working in the gym, it’s a bit easier and I’ve encouraged members to get involved in events too.

“I’m not coming this far to quit now and I’ve been coming in the top rankings for a few races recently so I’m really motivated to keep going and keep raising money.”

Children can call Childline at any time on 0800 1111 and any adult concerned about the welfare of a child or young person can call the NSPCC helpline for free, 24/7, on 0808 800 5000.

To sponsor Robert, head to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/reactivetraining