Barry ran a marathon – in the gym

Nov 13 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

A HAMILTON man has raised over £3000 by running the equivalent of the New York Marathon at a Hamilton health club.

Barry Moore (34), of Blair Atholl Gardens, completed the 26-mile tread on a cross-trainer at Esporta on November 2 – the same day as the New York event.

The charity run took him four hours, 38 minutes and 15 seconds.

Barry said: “It was hard going as 26 miles is a long way no matter whichever way you try to dress it.

“I am reasonably happy with my time. My target was between four and four-and-a-half hours.

“Towards the end, I developed cramp in my left leg, so to finish only eight minutes out of my target time was quite good.”

Barry cannot run for a sustained period on road surfaces due to a serious knee injury he suffered years ago while playing football.

A few months ago, he came up with the novel idea to run the marathon on a X-trainer to raise money for charity.

Barry, a director for London-based company Paragon Sports Management, chose two charities with connections to his own family.

His mother Anne works at St Andrew’s Hospice while his uncle Maurizio Puricelli, from Carluke, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer earlier this year.

“I managed to raise approximately £3200 for St Andrew’s Hospice and Cancer Research UK,” added Barry.

“And £350 of that figure was raised at Esporta on the day of the run.

“Maurizio came down to support me, which was great. There was around 25 to 30 people who were there rooting for me, including members of my family, friends and members of staff at Esporta.

“A couple of friends joined me on the cross-trainers next to my machine to support me.

“I just want to thank Esporta, all my sponsors and supporters who helped me raise this money for charity.”