A WELL-KNOWN broadcaster and comedian is preparing to walk 52 miles (two marathons) from Fife to Glasgow to raise funds for charity.
Heart Breakfast Scotland presenter, Des Clarke, will hit the road from Inverkeithing to Glasgow in 24 hours in aid of the radio station's chosen charity, Global’s Make Some Noise.
It changes lives across the UK by funding vital projects delivered by small charities, tackling a range of issues such as mental health, poverty and homelessness.
Speaking on how he’s feeling ahead of the walk, Des told the Press: “It’s one of those things, it’s a mixture of emotions that I’ve got right now because all the training is done, officially that’s it, I’ve put in a month’s worth of training and now it’s just about getting in there and doing it.
“Two marathons in one day, in 24 hours, even just saying it out loud just gives me shivers.
“It’s going to be an amazing experience, and probably very emotional as well.
"I know it’s going to be physically really tough, but what’s keeping me going are the messages of support, the fundraising, and all the brilliant charities that I’m going to meet along the way.
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“So right now I just want to get my head down and just start walking and take it one step at a time, knowing that by doing this I’ve got one of pain, but hopefully I can help many others across Scotland and raise as much as I can for so many great causes.”
This will be the first time that Des has done anything like this.
He added: “I was honoured to be asked to do it, but it’s definitely a once in a lifetime, a one-time only, I will never do anything like this again.
“I have never even run a marathon and I’m going to do two of them back-to-back without any sleep and I’m going to just have to keep going. We’ve looked at the timings and it is just about possible to do it, but there’s not much wiggle room.
“I’m just praying that I don’t get an injury or a blister, because something like that could finish me off.
"The other thing I’ve got to look out for is chafing. I’m not making this up, people organising it are saying that can stop the challenge because chafing is so painful sometimes, especially over a long distance, you can’t continue.
“So I’ve got tubs of Vaseline and I’m going to bring them with me and hopefully that will keep me going and I’ll be motivated to make it to the finish.”
But chafing isn’t the only unusual side-effect of his long walk that Des will need to watch out for.
“The fact that I’m going to have a guy checking my nipples throughout the route, a guy called Dave, he’s my nipple checker, so he’s going to have to check the nipples to make sure their taped up, make sure I don’t get a thing called jogger’s nipple!
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“I’m going to have to make sure that I’ve got all the cream in the right places.” Des said.
Des will be setting off tomorrow (Thursday) at 6pm from Inverkeithing, before crossing the Forth Road Bridge and walking overnight to the broadcast centre in Glasgow on Friday.
Joining him on the walk will be a group of charity service users and beneficiaries who have been helped by Global’s Make Some Noise.
He added: “Please give what you can, there’s a reason why we’re doing this and it’s to help as many people as we can here in Scotland. We know times are tough, so whatever you can spare will help these charities.
“Some of these charities wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for the help from the public in Scotland.”
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