Mark for capital punishment run

HE is known as Marathon Man, a title he has earned through undertaking some of the most demanding running events known to man.

Now Edinburgh endurance athlete Mark Cooper is planning to push his body to the absolute limit, after setting his sights on breaking the record time for running from Edinburgh to London.

Next summer, Mr Cooper will be joined by Hugh Williams Preece and Matt Palin for the run, which will see them plan to cover 560 miles in just 120 hours.

Just to make things a little harder, Mr Cooper - who three years ago had never run a single marathon, smoked 20 cigarettes a day and was a heavy drinker - will be undertaking the challenge in a kilt.

"I plan to invade England," he joked. "Hopefully I can make it all the way into the centre of London."

The route is yet to be decided, although course plotters have been asked to find the flattest route from Edinburgh to London, in what has been dubbed the "Capital-to-Capital Challenge". Avoiding as many hills as possible is simply good sense, with the run already a gruelling test of strength, stamina and willpower.

The runners will have to cover 112 miles every day, and will enjoy just two hours of "rest" each night.

Small wonder then that Mr Cooper, 27, of Portobello, admitted he would not be wearing the traditional kilt.

"I think it will have to be a fairly cheap one, as I couldn't carry all that weight the whole way," he said.

"If it's lightweight, though, it shouldn't affect the running too much."

The runners are hoping to break the standing Guinness World Record for running from Edinburgh to London, which stands at 120 hours and covered 549 miles. Mr Cooper, who works as a motivational speaker when not running, is already a record holder after running the 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall in less than a day earlier this year.

He achieved that feat just a few months after successfully completing the equivalent of 50 marathons in 56 days, running from Amsterdam to Barcelona to raise over 33,000 for The Edinburgh Headway Group.

As he prepares to get into training for the event, Mr Cooper admitted that, as well as raising as much as possible for charity Marie Curie Cancer Care, his aim was to see just how far he can push himself.

Over the five days the team will be supported by celebrity trainer Greg Whyte, physio-therapists and a camera crew.

Details of his latest endeavours and previous challenges can be found at www.runwithmark.com.