Bo'ness man Eddie Hughes has won a Local Hero Award

The Linlithgow veterinary clinic’s awards honour acts of kindness.

Eddie is being recognised for fundraising – he has raised an incredible £66,200 in the last 13 years for breast cancer charities by running marathons.

The Scottish Parliament also commended his efforts in 2018 for reaching his £6000 target that year.

Last year, he raised a further £4050 by taking on the Edinburgh half marathon in May and the Chicago marathon on Sunday, October 8.

His efforts in 2023 raised £4050 – £2500 of which was donated to Breast Cancer Now and £1550 to the Children’s Tumour Foundation.

The 64-year-old marathon man has no plans to retire his running shoes any time soon as he hopes to bag the world's big six marathons next year.

Having already completed London, Berlin, New York and Chicago, he needs Boston and Tokyo to complete his dream; he didn’t win a place at Boston this year but he’s determined to do them both in 2025.

This year, he’ll be staying closer to home – taking on the Great North Run and the Glasgow half marathon, both for Breast Cancer Now.

Eddie said: “This is my 14th year fundraising for breast cancer; I like to help as much as I can.

“All the money I have raised has been done face-to-face. When I started doing online things, they were taking a percentage of fundraising so every penny I’ve raised has been done by me and always face to face. The sponsorship work is more work than the marathons!

“I also have a charity quiz night for breast cancer which I've been doing for about 10 years now. The next quiz is on Thursday, April 4, in Platform 3, Linlithgow.”

As well as bagging the big six, Eddie has also set himself several fundraising goals for the future.

He added: “I'm hoping to raise £4000 by the end of this year to hit £70,000. Then I'll be aiming for £80,000 after completing the Tokyo and Boston marathons.”

“So far this year I've got about £500. Should all things go to plan, I am hoping to reach £100,000 in the next six years. I'm just going to keep going until I can’t!”

Eddie has started a new job in maintenance, office and furniture installation services with AJ Horton Services Ltd but still plans to fit his training in around work.

Inspired by his can-do attitude, selecting Eddie was an easy choice for the team at Westport Vets.

Senor vet Stuart McMorrow said: “Eddie is a fundraising force whose sheer devotion and dedication to his mission is inspirational.

“The time and effort taken to train for the marathons and in fundraising for charity is in a league of its own. Eddie pushes the limits in every way to improve the lives of others. He greatly deserves the recognition for his long standing mission of kindness – a hero in every way.”

Westport Vets has set up a fundraising page to help Eddie raise funds for his primary charity Breast Cancer Now. To support him, visit www.justgiving.com/page/eddie-hughes-1709072518290.

To nominate someone for the Local Hero Award, email the clinic's staff with details on their act of kindness at [email protected]​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.​​​​​​​