Soldier is in the zone for charity

Edinburgh-born Andy Gillies will run almost continuously for 60 hours, pausing only briefly for food and rest breaks, to complete the challenge.

The 34-year-old, who is working for the UN in Nicosia, will be joined by two colleagues, Max Dyck and Wayne Rowett, on his run along the buffer zone, which partitions the island of Cyprus into a southern and northern area.

The trio will be setting off next Wednesday at 6am and estimate they will complete the challenge by 6pm on Friday.

They will stop every six hours to eat and will take water on the go every two hours to keep themselves hydrated. They have only one scheduled sleep stop planned - for four hours - but may not take the full amount depending on how they feel.

The team has been in training for six months and will have to endure temperatures as low as -7C at night, and there will be a persistent risk of heavy rain and snow over the Troodos Mountains.

Mr Gillies, a former Royal High pupil, said: "I have done four marathons over four days before but the longest I have run for is 12 hours.

"When we break the 12-hour mark, we are into the unknown, but I will be surprised if any of us don't make it.

"As far as I'm aware, it hasn't been completed before. There have been attempted runs, but nothing documented to say it's been finished.

"Two previous attempts stopped at the halfway mark.

"If we are recorded as the first ones to complete it, it will be a bonus, but it isn't our reason for doing it."

The trio's aim is to raise money for four different charities - Unicef, Help for Heroes, Captain James Philippson Trust and the Evening News-backed campaign to save local charity the Mark Wright Project.

Bob and Jem Wright, who set up the project centre in Dalkeith in memory of their son Corporal Mark Wright, have been struggling financially to keep the centre, which provides social, emotional and practical support to military veterans, open.

Mr Gillies said: "I knew Mark and he was a good friend of my brother and family. I was saddened to read that the centre which does so much was facing difficult times.

"I sincerely hope our efforts can assist with the invaluable work carried out and pass on our regards to Bob, Jem and all involved."

He added: "The majority of our colleagues think we're stupid and there are people who think we're not going to do it, so that just gives us even more reason to complete it."

The group is looking for pledges of donations via bz [email protected].