A KIND-HEARTED schoolboy is refusing to put his feet up during the school break and is instead taking on a gruelling running challenge.

Ruaridh Muir will lace up his running shoes tomorrow lunchtime (Friday) and run just over a mile each hour over the course of 24 hours.

The 11-year-old, who is raising money for Alzheimer Scotland, will be joined on the run by dad Jonny and cousin Tom as he clocks up the miles.

His mum Lucy told the Courier her son would complete a marathon by the time he reached the finish line on Saturday afternoon.

She said: “In February, Ruaridh ran 100 kilometres and I said he could have probably made some good out of this and raised money for charity.

“My mum, Ruaridh’s gran, lives in Gullane and has Alzheimer’s, and is 82.

“Ruaridh has seen a big change and he can remember what she used to be like.

“Our youngest son is five and is a bit oblivious to it but Ruaridh gets a bit sad and upset by it.

“He feels like he is turning this into something positive.

“It is so grim living with Alzheimer’s and slowly watching the person not become themselves.”

East Lothian Courier: Ruaridh Muir is doing his bit for Alezheimer Scotland by completing a fundraising challenge during the Easter school holidaysRuaridh Muir

Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behaviour.

Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

A primary seven pupil at Aberlady Primary School, Ruaridh has already well and truly smashed his fundraising target.

His cousin Tom set up an online fundraising page for the challenge.

Lucy said: “He did not know what to set the target as, so we just put £500 and thought if we get that then it is amazing.

“In the first 48 hours, we had raised £1,000.

“It has levelled out a bit but we have had posters made and got them up in Margiotta in Aberlady, Haddington Tesco, Gannon Sports in North Berwick, and we are going to advertise it as well.

“Hopefully, we will get a little more sponsorship.

“Alzheimer Scotland has been really good and we got in touch with them.

“They saw the JustGiving page and have been in touch and are going to put it on their social media and website as well.”

Previously, Jonny, who was a strength and conditioning coach but now works as a firefighter, completed a similar gruelling challenge, in which he ran four miles every four hours over the course of 48 hours.

The duo will be joined by Ruaridh’s uncle Johnny, who lives in Melbourne, and has vowed to complete the first and last legs of the run from the Australian city.

Lucy said of her son, who is also a keen swimmer: “He is just really sporty.

“We are always outdoors, do lots of long walks and Ruaridh is outdoorsy and active.”

Go to justgiving.com/page/ruaridh-alzheimer-scotland to make a donation.