Record challenge is going nowhere

Mr Cooper hopes to cover 161 miles when he takes on the challenge in the St James Centre in July, just beating the current record of 160.4 miles.

The feat comes after the 28-year-old from Mountcastle raised 33,000 for head injury charity Headway by running from Amsterdam to Barcelona in memory of his mother Sheila, who died of a brain haemorrhage.

The record attempt will be in aid of the charity Funding Neuro, which raises money for treatments for brain and spinal conditions.

Mr Cooper, who is a records manager at law firm DLA Piper, said: "I can't say I'm looking forward to it really, but it's a fundraiser and a personal challenge. One of my friends is going to be having an attempt at the women's record through in Glasgow, so I thought I'd have a go at it."

The record attempt will come ahead of another big challenge, as Mr Cooper prepares to run all the way from Edinburgh to London later this year, and the 24-hour treadmill event will be part of his training.

He will aim to run for about four hours at a time, eating and drinking on the run, and taking short breaks of around five minutes between each session.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it, but I'll have a pop at it," he said. "I'm going to have to train for 24 hours at a time anyway, so this will just be a part of that."

He said the run would be a test of mental endurance as much as physical staying power. "To be honest, I run for the adventure of it, so when you're not going anywhere it's not quite the same.

"I'm inviting people to come and entertain me - any buskers who want to come along and play a song for me are welcome.

"There are people suggesting that I watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but when I think about watching all the Lord of the Rings films and still having another 15 hours to go, it's quite scary."

Funding Neuro was founded by Parkinson's sufferer Bryn Williams, who said he was delighted when Mr Cooper offered to back the charity.

"We met at the Jog Scotland awards. We'd both picked up an award and we got chatting," said Mr Williams. "I was delighted when he said he'd like to raise money for us.

"Exercise is a great way of holding Parkinson's at bay and I've gone from couch potato to marathon runner in three years. I can't comprehend this kind of distance - I thought running a 10K was pretty spectacular when I did it the first time, but the focus he has is amazing. It's fantastic to have him on board with us."

To support Mr Cooper see www.runwithmark.com and to find out more about Funding Neuro, visit www.wobbly williams.com

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