Scott McWhinney, sales and marketing director at McWhinney’s Sausages, and his close friend Rory Ingham have raised over £2,300 for charity after completing the Dramathon, a uniquely Scottish marathon that pairs trail running with single malt whisky.
Held on Saturday 18th October, the Dramathon followed the river Spey, which winds its way through the Highlands and provides the life blood of the region’s distilleries.
For Scott, this wasn’t his first Dramathon but it was a chance to improve. He commented: “I ran it in 2019 and crossed the line in pretty bad shape after 5 hours 15 minutes. As it turns out, trail running is not for beginners or the faint hearted.”
This time, the result was markedly different. Scott clocked in at 3 hours 56 minutes, a personal best and a significant improvement on his previous time. Rory edged just ahead, finishing in 3 hours 53 minutes. The pair placed 70th and 80th respectively out of 423 competitors.
“I’m fairly certain some of them were mountain goats in disguise,” Scott joked.
The course itself offered no shortage of challenges with three hills early on and what Scott described as a “relentless trail climb” over the last 6km. But motivation came in the form of a mid-run message, as Scott explained: “I got a voice note from my wife and kids cheering me on as I hit the final climb. This gave me the shot in the arm I needed to keep the pace up and finish as we had planned, within four hours.”
The duo ran in support of two children’s charities, Little Heroes and Fortune Kids.
“I feel like an imposter taking any credit for Fortune Kids,” Scott said. “The credit really belongs to Malachy Mallon, owner of Dolphin Takeaway in Dungannon, and Alan Hanna, who runs Pitstop Fast Food in Kilkeel, who travelled to the orphanage in Tanzania raising funds and even cooking McWhinney’s Sausages at the Barafu Camp, some 4650m above sea level. They have kept a close relationship with the orphanage and it has been a real pleasure to revisit this project and stand on the shoulders of these industry giants to give something back.”
Rory chose to support Little Heroes which funds the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, where his daughter Libbie received life-saving care as a baby. He added: “The PICU were there when we needed them the most and they continue to do incredible work. Supporting them in this way helps us to give a little something back.”
With the marathon now behind them, the pair are looking to their next challenge, training for Chase the Sun Ireland next year, a 209-mile cycle from Belfast to Sligo.
Commenting on the amount raised, Scott said: “The response from the industry and family and friends alike has been overwhelming and we would both like to thank everyone sincerely for their generosity.”
Donations are still being accepted for another couple of weeks, so if you’d like to donate you can do so at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/fortune-kids-little-heroes
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