A marathon effort

Jim Murphy (above), David Bruce (below) and David Wilson (bottom)

MP JIM Murphy has raised £8,000 for injured soldiers by running the London marathon.

The politician took his place on the starting line with Mo Farah and 36,000 other runners from all over the world.

Jim was top dog among all the MPs taking part, finishing in three hours, 31 minutes and 44 seconds.

He told The Extra: “I really enjoyed my first ever marathon. After 17 miles I was exhausted but just had to keep on going.

“A day that started with sombre silence for Boston ended in raucous welcome at Buckingham Palace.

“I was running to support soldiers injured in Afghanistan and the last thing I wanted to do was stop running.

“There were so many people lining the route, cheering us on the whole way. It was a fantastic day.

“I’d also like to thank all the local people who have made a donation to ABF The Soldiers’ Charity — it will make a real difference.”

People can still donate to Mr Murphy’s charity effort by visiting www.JustGiving.com/jimmurphymp.

The MP wasn’t the only local on the run as David Bruce, a doctor from Clarkston completed the marathon in three hours, 16 minutes and nine seconds.

In doing so he raised more than £2,500 for Hope for Autism.

He said: “I am delighted I had the chance to take part in one of the worlds’ best marathons — the support was out of this world.

“I am so glad that I used this chance to raise a good amount of money for a great charity.

“I have not been put off doing any more marathons and will be planning another later this year or 2014.”

To add to the runner’s impressive charity tally, visit www.justgiving.com/David-Bruce74 .

And running his fourth marathon was 44-year-old Graham Kelly, from Busby.

The railway engineer prepared in an unusual fashion — by running a 50-mile ultra marathon just a month before.

Mr Kelly travelled to the the remote Copper Canyons in Northern Mexico to run the legendary race made famous by Chris MacDougall’s book Born to Run.

The runner, who finished the London race in three hours, nine minutes and ten seconds, thinks the two experiences were suprisingly similar.

He told The Extra: “There is something amazing about the solidarity of runners. Whatever race you take part in there is a real community spirit.

“There is a peacefulness in running that creates a common bond.”