Graeme Johnston completes island run for Arran Youth Foundation

And Graeme Johston blew his fund raising goal out of the water as he completed the run for the Arran Youth Foundations (AYF) - a charity based on the island which he leads.

In a remarkable run around the island in only one day, Graeme ran an incredible 56 miles, or around 90 kilometres.

Graeme during one of the tougher stretches of his run. (Image: ArranEye)

Although it was a gruelling task, it was more than worth it for the Kilwinning man, as he raised a total of £5,120 from his efforts - more than five times his £1,000 target.

It took Graeme just over 12 hours to complete the run which saw him head off from AYF's youth cabins in Lamlash on the morning of May 19, award-winning youth worker Graeme will then circumnavigate the entire 56 miles of the island by foot.

Graeme's support team helped push him on through the pain barrier. (Image: ArranEye)

He finished his run at the centre that evening, cheered on by the young folk who attend their weekly Friday night youth club.

At this stage, Graeme was not just physically, but mentally worn out, and was visibly emotional as he was roared onto the finishing line.

As well as travelling 90 kilometres, he will also achieved an elevation gain of 1,084m, or 3,556ft, making this his biggest run ever by some way.

A breakdown of Graeme's remarkable effort. (Image: AYF)

Last year, the charity's youth work project manager raised funds by running the length of the River Ayr Way (over 40 miles) and taking part in the Goggins 4x4x48 challenge that involves running 48 miles over 48 hours by running four miles every four hours.

Though this recent fund raiser tested his limits even further with Graeme described three quarters of his run as "suffering".

However, those who got behind him kept him motivated to push on right to the end.

An emotional Graeme approaches the finishing line, cheered on by the AYF's Friday night youth club. (Image: ArranEye)

He said: "I feel absolutely delighted to have taken the challenge on and smashed it.

"A lot of planning and thought went in to it, so to finally get out there and do it felt great."

Graeme had been training for the run since December, running 50km in total every week, increasing this weekly until the day itself came.

Though nothing could have prepared him fully for what was to come.

He added: "I got lucky with the weather for the most part, apart from a few hours where it was really hot and I ended up being sick at the side of the road.

"Having run a couple of marathons in training in recent months and some other long runs, I had expected to get at least 45-50km in to the 90km total before struggling. Unfortunately on the day my legs started feeling sore around 34km in.

Graeme exhausted after completing his run. (Image: ArranEye)

"From then on it was a real slog. Fully eight or nine hours of it involved suffering - I was only motivated to keep going by the incredible generosity of our donors and supporters.

"My target was to raise £1,000 and in the end we finished on £5,120 - absolutely blown away by that, just incredible!"

For more of an insight on Graeme's remarkable run, ArranEye have created a 20-minute video covering his efforts in more detail.

This is available to view online at youtube.com/watch?v=4O_1vughEx4.

And for more on AYF, visit their Facebook page facebook.com/ArranYouthFoundations.