Blind Stirling runner gets ready to take on marathon challenge for hospice in memory of wife

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Stirling man who has been blind since birth is preparing to run a marathon to raise money for Strathcarron Hospice in memory of his late wife.In an extraordinary act of courage and commitment, Gordon Luke, aged 53, has committed to running in this year’s Edinburgh Marathon on May 29.Gordon, who lives and works in Stirling, hoped to run in the Stirling Marathon - but when this was cancelled he was undaunted and decided that the Edinburgh Marathon was a good alternative.When running, Gordon is guided by his running partner Shona Aiken.Both have been in training since August of last year.Gordon, who works for an IT company near Stirling, accepts that some people might think they are “mad” but, he said, they “really like a challenge”.Gordon admits that the choice of a marathon was at least partly to score one over his brother who had previously run a half marathon.However, more seriously and more importantly, he wants to support Strathcarron Hospice.Gordon is running to raise funds for Strathcarron partly to celebrate its 41 years of operation.But over and above this, he has his own very personal and touching reason.“My late wife Carolyn was a patient at Strathcarron a few years ago and, by the fabulous work they performed, they were able to give my daughter and myself an extra year of her life – a year in which she was able to see our daughter attend her school prom, start her first job and make her way to university.“Let’s face it – that’s priceless.“We therefore want to raise money for this fabulous place - and if it means a bit of pain and suffering as we pound the streets during hail, rain and shine, then so be it.”Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.