A Helensburgh man who completed last month's 96-mile race along the West Highland Way has raised over £5,000 for a sight loss charity.

Civil engineer Alistair Gray (33) ran the long-distance ordeal, in aid of the RNIB, in 19 hours, starting in Milngavie and finishing in Fort William.

Although a veteran of ultra-marathons, the West Highland Way Race was the biggest challenge he has faced to date.

Looking back, Alistair feels it was even more gruelling than he first anticipated - though he says he would still like to do it again some time!

“I led the race from Milngavie to Balmaha (20miles) in the moonlight on a perfect night,” he said.

“The pace was steady and I thought things were going reasonably well, but I started slowing down around Rowardennan, on the banks of Loch Lomond. It was getting harder and harder to keep the pace and I was struggling to eat anything.

“At Tyndrum (53 miles into the run) I was moving into the unknown, and on my way to Bridge of Orchy I was in fifth place but really starting to struggle."

Alistair found the section from Bridge of Orchy to Glen Coe the hardest bit.

“I was physically and mentally exhausted,” he continued, “and was slowing into an excruciating shuffle that seemed to go on forever.

“At Glen Coe I met my support team and my mum was looking pretty worried about me.

“Moving up 'The Devil's Staircase' in the glen, I managed to get some food on board and picked up a bit for the long run down into Kinlochleven. I was really glad to get down there, because if you make it there you're 99 per cent sure to finish!

“In saying that, the last ten miles or so into Fort William were a real test of mental strength. At this point I was in 14th place but getting slower and slower.

“Another competitor caught up with me in the last five-mile stretch. I was shuffling through the trees and he pushed me to go faster and offered to help me and finish together. We ran together and the pace got faster and faster until in the last km we were flat out sprinting to the finish!”

Despite his weeks of training beforehand, Alistair said he still found the race itself a surprise.

“I had thought I would be fine up to Tyndrum and that the really hard work would start from there,” he said.

“But I was in a pretty poor state by then. Every step from that point on became harder and harder!"

So when it was it was finished, how did he feel?

“I felt a bit of relief and regret," he said.

“Relief that it was over and I could sit down! Regret that I didn't manage to make it further feeling better.

“Although I had been aiming for around 20 hours I had secretly hoped that I might have done it a bit faster and felt a bit better doing it."

But yes, he could envisage doing it again. "I remember thinking during the race that this might be the only time I do this, but I have given too much now to only do it once. I want to keep the training in me and try another one to really see where my true limit is."

Alistair wants the money he has raised in sponsorship and donations to go the 'Talking Books' service provided by the charity RNIB for blind and partially sighted people. "Sight loss is something close to my heart as my Aunt Barbara has been blind following complications from an accident in her childhood," he said.

“She now has no vision at all."

To date the total he has raised in sponsorship stands at just over £5,000. "But we'll wait a while and see if we can't get a bit more in," he adds.

Sandra Wilson, the chair of RNIB Scotland, who is herself blind and a talking books user, praised Alistair's 'wonderful efforts'.

“Running 96 miles was a truly formidable challenge, one I think most of us could scarcely imagine undertaking," she said.

“The money Alistair has raised will help us produce more Talking Books for people who are blind or partially sighted.

“We know these are an absolute lifeline for so many who would otherwise be denied access to the literature that most people take for granted.

“But it costs RNIB £2,500 to professionally transcribe each book into audio and braille, so we do absolutely rely on the public to support us."

You can still donate to Alistair's online Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Allyruns100