Lanarkian William Lindsay prepares to run marathon around Lanark Loch

However, for Lanarkian William Lindsay it means the beginning of a gruelling 28 lap run around Lanark Loch!

Farm worker William, from the Castlegate, is preparing for a test of stamina aimed at raising cash for a very, very worthwhile cause very close to his and his family’s hearts.

He explained: “The Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital was simply great when treating a neice of mine a while back and I’ve been wanting to do something for it in return ever since.

“With my 40th birthday coming up on Saturday, I decided to run a sponsored marathon for the hospital and decided to do it around Lanark Loch.”

The Gazette assumed - as many Lanarkians would - that his marathon would consist of 26 laps of Lanark Loch, given that EVERYONE knows that it’s exactly a mile around!

Wrong.

Blowing that venerable and widely-believed local myth, William has measured the distance and it will take him a full 28 laps to achieve the full marathon distance.

For more on this story pick up a copy of the Lanark Gazette which is in the shops now.