Del's monster marathon run

Del Singh, from Peterborough is aiming to complete a quarter marathon, half marathon and a full marathon this year to support charity HEAL’s work with orphan children in India.

Having completed the Brighton quarter marathon, Del travelled to Scotland for his biggest challenge - with only 2,800 out of the 4,000 starters finishing the event.

He said: “It was quite a brutal experience for all runners, let alone a first timer. It is one of the steepest and hardest road races on the world’s marathon circuit.

“As I found there are literarily no crowds to cheer you on as you run in isolation along Loch Ness into Inverness, plus the cold and rain make it even tougher.

“Whilst my time of 7 hours 20 minutes won’t have Mo Farrah looking over his shoulder the fact that I finished was applauded by experienced marathon runners who failed to finish.”

Along with raising money for charity, Del is hoping to inspire others to take part in sport - having weighed 26 stone just four years ago.