On 10 August, Willow Burn volunteer and fundraiser, Ian Lowther, will once again be competing in GB Ultra's 'Race Across Scotland'; a remarkable and unique 215 mile, coast-to-coast ultra marathon following the beautiful Southern Upland Way.
Returning to take on one of the toughest ultras, this time as a GB Ultra Ambassador, Ian will have 100 hours to complete this epic challenge along the beautiful Scottish coastline, over mountains, along valleys and through the beautiful forests of the Southern Uplands.
Ian took on this challenge in August 2022 and raised an incredible £4,700.00 thanks to his employer's, Erwin Hymer Group, generous match funding.
Donate Only £10 and Sponsor a Nurse for 100 Hours This Year
We are looking for 215 people to sponsor each mile Ian runs in the Race Across Scotland: The Sequel.
Between 10 - 14 August, swap your takeaway coffees for a donation and help Ian to raise £2150 for his Local Hospice. This incredible amount will fund over 100 hours of a nurse's salary this year at Willow Burn.
Donate via this page or pop into the hospice with your £10.
Ian's Story
"I have always had a keen interest in running, I have completed several Great North Runs and have always liked to challenge myself.
I was sitting in the office having my dinner one day in the autumn of 2018 and a good friend of mine, Neil Liddle mentioned "look at these nutters running 70 miles in one continuous period starting in Carlisle and finishing in Newcastle upon Tyne with a 26-hour time limit". The race was called 'Rat Race the Wall', this got me thinking, could I do that, what sort of training do I need, how do I even train for an event like that?
I drive past Willow Burn every day on my way to work and have always had fond memories of the Hospice, the amazing care they provided for my family and I following the passing of my grandma. The aftercare support during the times when I was low held a place in my heart and I always wanted to go back and say thank you. That’s when my journey with the Hospice started as a fundraiser and volunteer.
I carried out some more research into Rat Race events and thought why not and entered with the race taking place June 2019. It was an amazing event and I finished in just under 19 hours.
Things then started to go through my mind, how far can you push yourself physically and mentally before you can’t go any further, I entered 'Rat Race The Wall' again in 2020 but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 and all entries were deferred to 2021, the event again was amazing.
After the event I thought what’s next, so I started looking for my next event, this is where is stumbled across two events, The Montane Cheviot Goat which was completely different to the Wall, it was a 60 mile Ultra in the Cheviot Hills with an event date of Early December. Due to COVID-19 and a winter storm this event didn’t take place until December 2022, I finished with 15 minutes to spare.
The other event was the Pilgrim 100-mile Ultra which follows the pilgrimage the monks took from Holy Island to Chollerford in Hexham, I thought this was a great event to enter as I believed it was a natural progression from the Wall. The event took place in the September of 2021 and I completed the event in just under 32 hours.
I managed to complete the 100 mile ultra and still thought I can go further, so the searching started again, following extensive research there were very few races that consisted of over 100 miles up to around the 150-mile range. This made me widen my search area and this is when I became aware of 'Race Across Scotland', which is a 215-mile continuous Ultras with a 100-hour time limit, the course starts on the west coast in a beautiful village called Port Patrick and finishes on the East Coast in the village of Cockburn’s Path travelling the entire length of the Southern Upland Way. The plan was always to enter in 2023 but a place became available for 2022 and I entered.
'Race Across Scotland' was an amazing event, I was so humbled to be allowed to raise the profile of Willow Burn Hospice and spread the word far and wide of the fantastic services they provide. Rachel and the whole community at Willow Burn were so supportive, from when I entered the race until my return after. As mentioned previously, Willow Burn is a very special place, a fantastic community hub which provides amazing levels of care for patients and also their immediate family and friends. The journey we all took together in 2022 made me feel so proud, even when times were tough the thought of everyone back home supporting me gave me so much energy and positive thoughts we managed to cross the finish line together as a Team.
Shortly after the race we were blessed as a family and our second child was born, a little boy called Matthew. This was such a special time and running took a back seat. We're now almost two years down the line and its time to have one more go at 'Race Across Scotland 2024'. This will be my first competitive race since December 2022 and is something I’m really looking forward to. I once again feely very privileged to be allowed to once again represent Willow Burn and I will again be hoping to spread the word far and wide of the amazing services and support Willow Burn provide.
During 'Race Across Scotland 2024', I will again have my amazing on course support crew with me, John Stokoe and David Robinson; two of my closest friends and have been with me since the start of my ultra running journey.
I have known John for around 15 years, he is a very generous, supportive person. When I decided to enter The Wall in 2019, I spoke to John to see if he would be interested in joining me, his reply was, "that sounds crazy, you can't do that alone, I’m in." During Race Across Scotland 2022 I believe John drove around 1200 miles in five days and was always on the end of the phone when I needed him regardless of the time, day or night. There was nothing that was too much for John, I lost count of the number of pot noodles he made for me during the race, it takes a special kind of person to give up almost a week of their holidays to come and support me 24 hours a day for five days.
My other crew member is a gentleman called David Robinson. John and I both met Dave at Newcastle Train Station whilst travelling to Carlisle for Rat Race The Wall in 2019, we sat together on the train to Carlise said goodbye and went our separate ways. The next morning, we crossed paths with Dave on the start line and ran almost the entire race together as a three. The following day thanks to social media I was able to find Dave and we have all been close friends ever since and I’m so lucky to have them both in my life. Dave also played a very important role during 2022, we’ve ran a number of races together and he knows exactly what I need when I need it, there was one point during the race in 2022 when I really didn’t want to leave the check point. Dave has a special talent, he is able to motivate you when you feel you have nothing left and played a massive part in me reaching the finish line in 2022."
We are honoured that Ian, John and David have chosen to take on Race Across Scotland again this year in aid of Willow Burn Hospice and hope you will all get behind his inspirational fundraising efforts.
