Marathon man Todd clocks up the miles to raise funds for The Golf Foundation

The restrictions on everyday life brought on by the Coronavirus forced many of us to try new things. Whether it was some ill-advised DIY here or some equally shoddy DIY haircuts there, the pandemic prompted a wave of fresh motivations. Allan Todd thought he’d give running a go. Now, he’s steeling himself for the Virtual London Marathon at the start of October.

“You can blame lockdown on this,” said the Prestwick PGA Assistant with a chuckle. “The plan was to lose a bit of weight when the restrictions came in so I started running back in April 2020.

"Part of the motivation was proving to myself that I could stick to it. I probably didn’t think I would. You do get addicted to it and you get a massive buzz from trying to improve your times. You keep upping the miles to find that next challenge.”

Todd’s 26-mile, self-planned route will take him from his home in Ayr, across 10 golf courses in the local vicinity before he gasps to a finish amid a ticker tape parade at the Prestwick clubhouse. 

The 32-year-old is raising money for the Golf Foundation and he is already well on course to break his £1000 target.

His own personal target, meanwhile, is to earn the family bragging rights.

“My uncle did a marathon in three hours 40 minutes back in the day,” added Todd. “He says he has photographic evidence of him crossing the finishing line at three hours 40 so I need to beat that.”

Todd has already completed five half-marathons while a charity run for the MS Society saw him bound through 200km in a month.

Since the start of the year, Todd has been putting in the kind of shift that would have Haile Gebrselassie nodding with approval.

“I’m sitting at 1200 km since early January,” he reported as he builds towards the main event. “I’m clocking up the miles. It’s a bit like golf. You only get out of it what you put in.”

Todd is now hoping that his dedication for his new passion will lead to him achieving his ultimate goal.

“The ambition is to do the actual London Marathon,” he said. “All I’ve known as a runner has been pounding the streets in my own company but people tell me what a great buzz the marathon is when you’re running with all those people. I’d love to do one of the main runs somewhere. I’ve been bitten by the running bug.”

CLICK HERE to view Allan's fundraising page.

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