A HADDINGTON runner produced a fine performance to finish fifth at the Glenmore 24-hour race over the weekend.

And for Adrian Dingwall, the race took on an added significance, as it coincided with the 12th anniversary of the death of his father.

His dad Richard died suddenly while on a business trip in Japan in August 2005, aged 64, and Adrian took to the course just outside Aviemore in memory of his father.

The 44-year-old completed the gruelling feat of endurance, having run 27 laps of the course – a total of 111 miles.

He crossed the finish line shortly after 11.15am on Sunday, having started the race at noon the previous day!

And Dingwall, of the town’s Dovecot Mill, admitted his dad was never far from his thoughts.

He said he “gave absolutely everything for the old man during the race”.

He was “over the moon” with his performance, and told Courier Sport: “The course is a four-mile loop and the idea is to get round it as many times as you can.

“It is a mental and physical test because you know that even when you’ve done it [the loop] 10 or 15 times, you’ve probably got another 10 at least to go.

“It was brilliant, though.”

And he described the scene at the base camp, where many racers had pitched tents, and support crews waited through the night.

He added: “When the 12-hour race finished at midnight they had music going and that helped.

“Although I wasn’t in the party mood, it kept me going.

“I went back to my tent at 3am to get my head torch but in the wind and rain the tent had blown away, so that just added to it all really.”

Dingwall said of his fifth-place finish: “It shows that you can do anything you put your mind to.

“My target of 120 miles was right on the boundary of what I am capable of but I managed more than 110 miles and I am a guy who likes a pie and a pint.”

When he returned home, his family – wife Aileen, 14-year-old son Grant and daughter Ailsa, 10 – were on hand to help him celebrate.

“They had the banners and balloons out and a bottle of whisky, which was nice,” Adrian said.

He also encouraged any potential runners to get involved with Haddington Running Club, which meets on Wednesdays at 6.45pm at Aubigny Sports Centre.