Keith Courtney and Richard Gallacher raise £22,000 for charity

Keith Courtney and Richard Gallacher cycled more than 1,300 miles, from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Not satisfied with that mammoth journey, the duo then turned round at one of Scotland’s most northerly points and pedalled back to their home town of Dunbar.

Keith, 36, described the journey, which took 12 days, as “challenging”.

He said: “It was intense.

“Some of the climbs were very intense but with the weather we had to take on more water to stay hydrated.

“It was challenging, I’m not going to lie, but it was just a great experience, to be honest.

“It was worth the pain in the legs and the sleep deprivation every morning for the two charities; it was fantastic.”

Richard Gallacher and Keith Courtney have completed an incredible cycle, which took them from one end of the country to the other, for charity

Keith and Richard took on the lengthy cycle in aid of the Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation for the Haematology Centre at the Western General Hospital, and St Columba’s Hospice.

The duo raised a total of £22,037.93, which will be split between the two good causes.

Keith was taking part in the fundraiser in memory of his mum Fiona Thomson.

She was diagnosed with leukaemia before she died in 2014, aged 59, with Keith full of praise for the staff at the Capital hospital.

Meanwhile, Richard’s dad David Gallacher was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer related to asbestos exposure, in June 2015 and died in November of that year.

The money will be split equally between the two causes and Keith described the figure as “overwhelming”.

He said: “The support we got from everybody who donated [was amazing] – we never thought we would ever get £5,000, let alone £22,000.

“We visited the two charities on the last day.

“That was a massive boost for us, just to get into the charities and get photographs – it was great to represent them.

“We could not ask any more from them.”

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Each day, the duo, who played rugby for Dunbar RFC, would get up at about 6am before setting off to cycle about 100 miles a day.

Keith told the Courier they “could not eat enough” as they burnt off calories.

The duo were welcomed back to Hallhill Sports Centre at the end of their mammoth journey.

Richard Gallacher and Keith Courtney have completed an incredible cycle for charity

Keith added: “To complete Land’s End to John O’Groats was an achievement in itself.

“We had added an extra three days on, so it was a great achievement.

“Family and friends were there and it was just mixed emotions as to why we were doing the event for the two charities. That hit home and I was just thinking of my mum, and Richard was thinking about his dad.

“For the scale of things, we got a lot of support on social media and that helped us through – the lovely comments and donations.”