Lord Provost running in the London Marathon

Edinburgh’s Lord Provost the Rt Hon Donald Wilson only took up running last year when he entered for two 5K events in the city, but this year he has taken up the challenge of running a marathon.

He has entered for the London Marathon on 26 April 2015, and he told The Edinburgh Reporter his training programme is going really well.

He turned up in his bespoke running gear, shorts and a T-shirt which his staff gave him for Christmas which has a photo of the Provost’s chain on the back and front. (At least this means he can leave the chain at home!)

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Edinburgh’s Lord Provost to run in London Marathon from Phyllis Stephen on Vimeo.

“I’m going for distance and I’ve been trying to get up the confidence that I will be able to do the 26 miles. I run about 25K three times a week so I think I can do it! One of the great things about it is how much better I feel. There’s no two ways about it, I feel so much healthier now. I have lost about a stone and a half in the last four months.Even Judy Murray who I met at the rugby last weekend noticed how much thinner I look!”

He ran in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival and the Wester Hailes Fun Run last year which are only 5K runs, but he has kept up his training regime with Andy Macnaughton his personal trainer from Edinburgh Leisure. The Lord Provost said: “I absolutely could not have done it without him. I am thoroughly enjoying it. It is arduous but I am looking to get there in about four hours.”

The Lord Provost is raising money for his own charity the One City Trust and the Jamie Skinner Foundation. You can help by donating money here.