AN ALLOA man plans to complete the town's half marathon run during one of his daily exercise outings in a bid to raise awareness of a local charity.

Paul Fishwick hopes that by pledging to complete the run, he can also draw attention to the current struggles facing The Gate in Alloa.

The official Alloa Half Marathon was due to be held later this month, but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, that won't stop 58-year-old Paul from taking on the challenge.

He told the Advertiser: "I'm just doing the Alloa run by myself – the half marathon – on March 29, starting at 10am.

"It'll be the same route, [and] I'm doing it to raise awareness for The Gate.

"I've spoken to my sister-in-law – she helps out at The Gate – and they're a bit short."

Indeed, as the Advertiser previously reported, in these unprecedented times The Gate plans to continue providing its essential foodbank service.

But the organisation has recently appealed for food donations, carrier bags, and volunteers.

While Paul did consider setting up a fundraiser to support the charity, he felt that given the current climate, it was best to simply speak out and remind people to lend their support where possible.

This can be done in a variety of ways: The Gate has permanent trollies in all supermarkets in Alloa where donations can be dropped off.

Volunteers can also contact the organisation directly, on 01259 218 766, to discuss how they can assist.

Paul said that by completing the half marathon run and speaking out, he hopes to do his bit to assist.

And he is confident that when the big day comes this weekend, he'll make it to the finish line.

He said: "I've been running for about five or six years, and training with the Wee County Harriers.

"Obviously, the Wee County Harriers have stopped training, so I have been training by myself.

"I was out on Sunday and did about 19km.

"It's not really a problem doing it."

Paul aims to complete the run in around two hours on Sunday, and the Advertiser will let readers know how he gets on.

In the meantime, for more information on how to support The Gate, visit the-gate-charity.org/how-you-can-help