A man from Uddingston took on a mammoth ascent up Ben Nevis with a 100kg barbell on his back for charity.
David Dooher, 38, may have set a new Guinness World Record after he climbed the UK’s highest mountain with the weight on his back.
However, the joiner’s main aim behind the collosal test was to raise money and awareness for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, a charity set up by former Scotland rugby international Doddie Weir, who dies last year.
In preperation for the task David had to undergo some rigorous training.
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He told Glasgow Live: “I like the hill and I like the gym so I thought I’d combine the two. I also wanted to do something that would catch someone’s eye, it had to be a proper challenge.
“One hundred kilograms is my own body weight, so if I could carry the weight of another person on my shoulders it symbolically represented the struggle that those who endure motor neurone disease go through.
“I trained six days a week for six months. The first three months was gym based to build up strength, the final 12 weeks was in the hills, working my way through the weights.”
It took the fundraiser 16-and-a-half hours to reach the summit. The mountain climber admitted that he and his team were operating off of pure adrenaline throughout their attempt.
He was driven on by those ascending the mountain and the crowd gathering at the top to meet him.
David said: “It was more difficult than I thought. We started the climb at 7pm because the hill was so busy. Starting at that time was great logistics wise but it meant the team were awake for almost 30 hours.
“We rested maybe two or three times for 20 minutes but it was just about tapping into the reserves and getting the job done. It was so emotional throughout. The climb was getting painful just after the first couple minutes.
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“There were a few times when I thought about giving up. When I reached the summit with my wife there it was unbelieveable.
“The bagpipes playing in the background and the members of the public clapping was the best part for sure. Even walking back down the mountain people were speaking to me about it.
“Everyone was so supportive. I met a girl near the summit whose dad had just died of motor neurone disease which dialled in my focus.”
Although he is adamant that he holds a new world record, David is still trying to get the feat recognised by Guinness.
The 38-year-old said: “They didn’t send an ajudicator on the day and it would have cost thousands. But through our research we found that the heaviest weight carried up Ben Nevis was 60kg which I’ve 100 per cent broken.”
So far he has raised around £19,000, smashing his initial £2,000 target.
To donate to the fundraiser click here.
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