A CARING Renton man is running 7km every day in December to raise money for CHAS in memory of his beloved papa who passed away seven years ago next month.

Douglas Fyffe’s grandfather, Robert Fyffe, was a proud family man and a well-known baker in the area, who ran Meadowside Cakes from his home in Queen Street, Alexandria.

Twenty-nine-year-old Douglas, who is one of Robert’s 13 grandchildren, had originally planned to complete a 5k run every day next month as a personal challenge. But with the anniversary of his grandfather’s death approaching, he decided to make it more meaningful by running to raise money for a charity close to his papa’s heart.

He told the Reporter: “My papa never leaves my mind and I’m always wanting to do him proud. Two days before he passed away I went into the bakehouse with him and we baked a few cakes together.

“I’d always watch from window but I’d never worked with him before that, so every Christmas since I have always made a point of doing a cake. This year though I thought ‘let’s do something bigger and raise a bit of money’.

“When I started thinking about my papa, it’ll be seven years this year, and that’s where 7km came from.

“He was a very keen runner himself and my gran Mollie reminds me of a fond memory of a particular fun run around Christie Park when he was the oldest entrant and I was the youngest that day.

“I reckon he’d have wanted to do this with me and would have certainly found a way of getting round.”

With his challenge set, the trainee dental nurse turned to Mollie for advice about who to donate the money to and she was able to point him in the right direction.

He added: “I spoke to my gran and she mentioned papa admired CHAS and the work they did and took regular walks up to Robin House to take in what they were doing, so it was a no-brainer.

“Because papa was a family man and we are such a close family and CHAS is there for families, it’s all very fitting.

“Christmas is very much a time for being with the family, so I want to raise the money and give it to them, so that it supports families, especially at Christmas.”

Despite the colder weather, Douglas insists that he is fully prepared and raring to take on the challenge.

He set up a JustGiving page last Wednesday with a £700 target, which he hopes to reach and go beyond, and told the Reporter he is blown away by the generosity of those who have already donated so far.

Douglas said: “I am absolutely delighted with the response so far. My papa touched a lot of people’s lives and within 24 hours I was already a bit over 20 per cent of the way there.

“I’ve been involved in health and fitness since I left school and have done 10ks and half marathons before, but I must admit this is me getting back into to it after a year or two out.

“I’ve been training and I’ve caught the bug now. I plan to run into Alexandria itself and Balloch and Dumbarton to try and mix it up.

“I’m all prepared, I’ve got my gloves ready and it’ll be fun.”

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