Glen Urquhart High School pupil raises more than £11k after running equivalent of more than two marathons along Great Glen Way
A Highland teenager has completed a gruelling challenge to run a distance of more than two marathons - while doubling his fundraising target for his school.
Shannon Thorp, an S6 pupil at Glen Urquhart High School, in Drumnadrochit, completed a 56.4 mile route in 11.5 hours.
The 17-year-old, who was joined along the way by his headteacher, Tjeerd van Loon, and others, has raised £11,500 which will go towards helping to renovate the canteen and seating area, transforming it into a more open area with pool and air hockey tables.
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Shannon’s route took him along the Great Glen Way from Fort William to his school and included some challenging and steep hill sections.
Now in his final year, he said it was his way of giving something back to the school which he felt had given much to him.
His aim was to raise £5600 - £100 for each mile - but he smashed his target with many people donating via a crowdfunding appeal while local businesses and organisations also gave their support.
Shannon, who completed the run over two consecutive days, recalled the moment he reached the finish line to the cheers of local youngsters.
“It was good to run through the village and see all the kids up at the school and finally getting to the school which seemed such a long way off on the Sunday when I started,” he said.
“A lot of pupils turned out, even the primary and nursery ones.
“It was brilliant.”
He said the most challenging section of the run was towards Invergarry where he knew he had to keep going to get through the pain.
“It is all about the mindset to keep going,” he said.
“I knew I was doing it for a good cause at the end of the day to provide the school with money to help pupils whether that is with a pool table, or furniture, but it was about leaving money to be able to do what they want with it.
“That was always at the back of my mind - to reach the school and to achieve what I set out to achieve.
“To see the crowdfund had gone over its goal by nearly £2000 a few days beforehand was pretty amazing.
“There was never a thought that I wanted to give up.
“It was basically keep going, make sure I eat enough and drink enough and go at a pace which was going to suit me in the best way possible.”
Shannon, who has also played cricket and football for Scotland and was the first pupil at Glen Urquhart High School to receive the Gold Hoodie from High Life Highlnd for his Sports Leadership Award, hinted it will not be his last endurance challenge and could involve a 150-mile run.
“I have already thought of what I want to do next,” he said.
“It will be far bigger than the one I have done.
“I want to challenge myself even more.
“Unfortunately I am not old enough to enter races such as these.
“I can still go out and do my own running.
“That is what I have just done.
“Why not do something else which is going to challenge me even more?”
Headteacher Mr van Loon ran 36.5 Miles from Fort William to Fort Augustus in the first leg and then 14.2 Miles from Invermoriston to Glen Urquhart High School on day two.
“I loved every minute,” said Mr van Loon whose preparation in the preceding three months involved runs between 10pm and 2am.
“It was a huge challenge.
“The two days were an absolute privilege to run for the school with this guy and keep fit and active.
“It was inspirational.”
He has now signed up to do this year’s Baxters Loch Ness Marathon.
Mr van Loon also paid tribute to the support team which included Cathy Lowder, Iain Harding, Shannon’s dad, Mike Thorp, and Adam MacBean.
The combined distance achieved by the runners was 191.36 miles.
Shannon’s brother, Dylan, cycled the full distance on an e-bike loaned by Loch Ness Hub.
