Colin sets himself a mammoth challenge

Colin Stewart (25), who now lives in Manchester, will run FIVE marathons in the next FIVE days, along with his friend, Neil Rostance.

The pair will run 125 miles from Manchester to reach the official start line of the Newcastle Great North Run, to join the 54,000 other competitors.

Colin grew up in the Millburn area of Coleraine, and is a past pupil of Coleraine Inst. He now works in Manchester as a translator.

The exhausting running challenge will see the duo running from Manchester city centre, through Salford, Bury, Burnley and over the Yorkshire dales before hitting the home leg to Newcastle.

After five marathons they hope to finish on Newcastle’s iconic Tyne Bridge on Saturday.

Colin told The Times: “We are aiming to raise over 1,000 for Age UK. Throughout our run we will be posting updates on Twitter and Facebook.”

After running last year’s Great North Run, Colin said that they enjoyed it so much they decided to push themselves to the next level.

“We’re not seasoned athletes but we’ve trained really hard and we can’t wait to get started. ]

“The hardest part will be getting over some brutal hills in the Yorkshire Dales, but we’ll get there,” said Colin.

You can follow Colin and Neil on twitter at www.twitter.com/takelongroad or visit www.takethelongroad.co.uk.