Runner raises ultra-donation just weeks after surgery
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A COLLIESTON man has raised almost £2000 to say thank you to the hospital staff that saved his life - by running over 100 miles in his own garden.
In the 11 years since he started running Mike Raffan has completed innumerable challenges and races, including a whopping 46 ultra-marathons ranging from 30 to 253 miles.
What makes his latest challenge all the more remarkable, however, is that it is mere weeks since Mike underwent lifesaving heart surgery.
He learned about the challenge - set by Cockbain Events to help endurance runners continue to challenge themselves during lockdown while scrolling through Facebook.
The challenge encouraged runners to run as far as they could at any one point during April, following just three rules - it must be in your garden, take no more than one hour's rest at a time and a single length must be no further than 100 metres.
Having only found out about his congenital heart condition - which Mike described as "the plumbing being not quite right" a year and a half ago after finding himself increasingly breathless when he previously would not have been, Mike underwent specialist surgery in Glasgow's Golden Jubilee Hospital two months ago, and he knew that he wanted to give something back to the people that saved him.
He said: "So little is known about these kinds of conditions that people often don't know until it's too late, even though you're born with it, so I'm really lucky.
"The money I've raised is for the Golden Jubilee Hospital, and more specifically the Scottish Adult Congenital Service, because they saved my life."
In the year running up to his surgery the furthest Mike was able to run was eight miles, a far cry from the 26 miles of a standard marathon let alone the 106 miles he completed, even admitting "I felt like I probably could have done a bit more".
The 106 miles - approximately 1696 laps of his garden route - took Mike around 27 hours to complete, and he told the Advertiser that the reality of doing the challenge at home in his own garden meant that it was actually a slower run than normal due to it's stop-start nature.
His active lifestyle has proved incredibly beneficial so far in the healing process as he has been smashing post-operation milestones ahead of schedule, however he remains signed off work as a precaution and is currently isolating at home with his wife and daughter.
To make a donation to Mike's efforts, you can visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/isolationmike.
