Ian Mclellan, 37, has worked at the gym in Alloa for just over three years now and is a keen runner.

Last year, he completed a running fundraiser for Andy’s Man Club, with his JustGiving page raising an impressive £1,710.

However, this year, Ian wanted to set himself another challenge and decided to tackle the Ultra X Inverness. He had to run 50k for this marathon trail.

Ian and Max. (Image: Contributed)

The race takes place in the highlands around the banks of Loch Ness.

Speaking to the Advertiser about why he undertook the challenge, he said: “Honestly it was probably the result of being very optimistic about something and just kind of going for it.

“Last year, running the fundraiser for Andy’s Man Club was just about raising awareness.

“This year it was more so just to push and challenge myself and see if at this age I still had it in me had, to be honest, but it turns out, I was okay.

“I convinced myself that because it wasn’t a road marathon, and it’s kind of expected that people will walk parts of it, that it would be a lot easier, when in actual fact it was substantially harder because of the elevation.

“I would definitely say it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done”.

Ian’s son, Max, who is just two and a half years old, was there at the race to cheer his dad on and even crossed the finish line with him.

“I can remember the finish line was on the bank of the loch, and it was over a field that was quite undulating.

“So, the last maybe 500 metres, I could see the finish line, but I couldn’t really see any of the people there because of the hills.

Ian crossed the finish line with his son, Max. (Image: Ultra X/ Ben Tufnell)

“Then I remember turning a corner and just seeing him [Max] run up towards me, and oh my goodness, it was just the most surreal thing.

“I wanted to run across the finish line of a race like that with him and he kind of ran towards me, I picked him up, gave him a cuddle, and then he actually ran alongside me for a bit.

“It was just the most surreal thing ever”, Ian added.

Now, Ian is looking ahead to his next challenge, and he hopes to try running the Lake Garda Marathon.