Ex-pat ready for charity run

An ex-pat who is running between Germany and Glasgow next month is asking the people of Lanarkshire to show their support for children.

John Mcgurk (53) is undertaking an epic fundraising feat for the charity Children 1st – and hopes people will come out to run with him and cheer him on as he runs through Lanarkshire on Monday, June 6.

And John won’t be hard to miss – he always runs in a kilt.

He said:“i may live in Germany but I’m still a true and proud Scotsman. I survived a traumatic childhood and chose Children 1st because they work with abused children and those whose lives are blighted by poverty.

“The work they do is all about helping children recover from trauma, or helping families who need support. That’s what needs addressed, and what I want to change.”

John and his team of runners will conclude a four-day, 560-mile run later that day in Glasgow.

And en-route they’ll pound the streets of Blantyre as they stop at the newly-opened Crossbasket Hotel for a well-earned rest.

John, once a squaddie with the King’s Own Scottish Borderer’s regiment, set up a charitable association in Germany and has raised almost €1million for children’s organisations across the globe.

He hopes those in the forces or veterans will look out their trainers too.

The team will leave Crossbasket Hotel at 2pm for Glasgow, via East Kilbride and Rutherglen.