Buchanan's up for the challenge in half marathon duel with Brady

David Buchanan says he hopes his half marathon challenge with Jon Brady helps to motivate people into getting outside and trying new forms of exercise, particularly during the current lockdown.

Neither Buchanan nor Brady have run a half marathon before so it will be a first for both when they take on the 21 kilometres at 9am sharp on Saturday morning.

Personal pride is on the line but so is raising money for the NHS through their Just Giving page (www.justgiving.com/fundraising/backofthenetfc-soccerschools).

"Jon challenged me to the half marathon race on Twitter," explains Buchanan. "I said yes without really thinking about it to be honest - when I sat back I thought 'why did I agree?!'

"We both decided that it would be good if we could try and raise some money for our NHS heroes, along with that I will be donating a signed pair of boots to someone who has donated.

"We have had a few good conversations about the run, and I feel like he has sucked me in a little bit! I saw his 17km time the other day which was very impressive. Jon is a great guy and an incredibly competitive Aussie!

"I’m going to aim for eight minutes a mile if I can. Will it be good enough? I’m not sure, but the most important thing out of it all is the money we are raising for the NHS.

"Also, I hope it will help to motivate people in to trying things they have never done before and pushing their mind and bodies to a place they have never been before.

"That’s my goal, getting people to look at this as a positive challenge, because exercising in all forms, whether walking, running, cycling, swimming etc, makes you feel happy and that’s massively important to our mental and physical health."