TWO Musselburgh men have run the Kenilworth Half Marathon to raise funds for Eskmuthe Rowing Club.

Simon Francis and Josh Duffy, who row for the club, wanted to help cover the cost of the new boatshed, which will be used to refurbish the club’s boats Honesty and Steedie Falconer, as the club looks forward to the Skiff World Championships next year.

The duo smashed their target, raising more than £1,000 after completing the recent half-marathon challenge.

Simon later said that Josh ran the race as a “couch to half marathon”, as he only started running in June this year.

“This is proof that anything is possible. He finished the half in just 12 seconds over the two-hour mark. I finished in 1hr52m – also an avid lover of a cigarette and a pint of Tennent’s,” added Simon, who was also running his first half marathon at Kenilworth, where he grew up.

Josh, left, and Simon celebrate finishing the half marathon

Josh added: “I never thought I’d be able to run this far and it’s been amazing to have so much support from friends, family and the wider community for the run.

“Rowing already takes me out of my comfort zone, thinking of not letting down your four other team-mates in the boat, but running has pushed me mentally to really rely on yourself to just keep going – and we have done this for a worthy local cause.”

The new boatshed at Fisherrow Harbour is close to completion but the club still needs funds to finish the job.

Eskmuthe Rowing Club is a SCIO set up to build, row and race St Ayles skiffs as part of the Scottish Coastal Rowing Association

People can still donate in support of Simon and Josh by going to justgiving.com/page/simon-francis-eskmuthe