GULLANE man Craig Gilroy decided that scaling North Berwick Law once wasn’t enough of a challenge... so instead climbed it 30 times in a row to raise money for a local charity.

The 35-year-old was looking for a way to support baby loss charity SiMBA to show thanks after some close friends used the service. 

He works as a personal trainer and already runs a lot, so did not think that completing a marathon would garner that much excitement or money and instead thought he would “try to do something different”.

Craig set himself the challenge of scaling North Berwick Law as many times as he could in 24 hours, beginning at noon on Friday, August 16, and continuing through the night until Saturday afternoon. 

He told the Courier: “There was never a set number. I was hoping for at least 24, so averaging at least one an hour. And that was the challenge!”

Craig thought it might be a lonely affair, but when people heard about his challenge and the cause, they turned out in droves and supported the attempt – joining him for climbs and offering food.

He said he was grateful for his team and called them "the best support in the world”, with people by his side even at 2am.

Craig had people join him throughout the 24 hours and was only on his own for two hours in total

Craig and his team reached the summit for the 24th time at 7am on the Saturday and he thought: “I can’t do anything less than 30 or it will sound rubbish!”

By noon on Saturday, after 24 hours of non-stop walking, Craig had ascended and descended the Law 30 times.

Craig said: “It was tough. The weather was nice, it was quite windy. So any time we got to the top it was a case of get up there, touch the top, take a photo and then turn back round again.

“It was amazing, it felt great. Obviously it was a bit of a slog but I didn’t find it as bad as I thought I would.”

As an added bonus, Craig hopes that the physical challenge will inspire people to keep themselves fit, which is a message he tries to share every day during his job as a personal trainer.

He said: “So many of the people who walked it with me just came for the nice walk, and then they realised that it’s great fitness, it’s free – I thought that was a really cool thing for them to learn.”

The hope was to raise £500 for SiMBA but that total has already been smashed, with more than £3,800 raised for the charity so far.

The friends who had used the service previously also turned out to join Craig for a section of the challenge.

SiMBA was founded in Dunbar in October 2005 and supports families who have lost their baby by creating precious moments with memory boxes and bereavement rooms, as well as counselling and support groups.

Craig added: “I’m so over the moon with the challenge and I’m absolutely chuffed with the money it raised.”

The fundraiser is still open for donations at justgiving.com/page/craig-gilroy-1722780114978