In 1993, Scott lay in Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, having lost his eyesight over the course of three weeks due to a rare condition. Thirty years later, to the day, Scott stood on the startline to the Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra, ready to take on his biggest challenge yet.
Now 53 years old, Scott Cunningham MBE has taken part in many running adventures, including the London Marathon and the Manchester Marathon. Most recently, he was the first to complete the Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra alongside his guide and good friend David Mooney.
Credit: Ross Plant
The Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra is a 56-mile point-to-point footrace held by GB Ultras. The route follows the River Kelvin, Sustrans Route 754, the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Union Canals, and the Water of Leith from Glasgow to Edinburgh.
“I was celebrating 30 years of the blind adventure, which has been absolutely brilliant. I would never have done any of these things if I was sighted.”
Scott was raising money for Guide Dogs UK, a charity Scott expresses is incredibly close to his heart: “When I lost my sight, it was obviously so sudden. I could no longer work as a forklift driver, and I couldn’t drive my car anymore.
Scotts Fundraising Page for Guide Dogs UK
“Back then, I had no sight, I had no job, I had no hope, and I felt there was no point, really. I couldn’t have got any lower. Eighteen months later, I got my first Guide Dog, which changed my life.”
Scott explains the race day itself was poignant in more ways than one, as less than 12 months earlier (50 weeks), Scott had suffered a heart attack, which led to him receiving four stents and a strict regimen that included 15 pills a day. It was also bittersweet as he raced in memory of his great friend Jim “Kirky” Kirk, who died exactly six weeks after his heart attack.
Jim inspired Scott to take up running seven years ago and was ever-present in his fundraising activities, such as the London Marathon and many more.
Credit: Ross Plant
With these three reasons close to his chest, Scott took his position and helped begin the Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra at 6 a.m. via air horn and bagpipes as the rain thundered down upon the racers. As they began, Scott stated his intense patriotism to be a Scotsman, feeling the emotion and buzz of excitement and anxiety around him.
“Along the race, it was the first time, for health and safety purposes, I had to use a head torch so that people could see me. But I have a joke where I’ve saved a fortune in light bulbs over a 30-year period, which made me giggle as we ran.”
This race will be remembered for the heavy rain that did not yield, instantly soaking each racer, volunteer and organiser to the bone. Nevertheless, Scott, an intensely positive and bright light in the darkness, found goodness as he ran alongside David, singing the likes of Billy Joel’s Piano Man.
“David has dedicated so much time as we train together, and we’ve done the long, long miles training and preparing, and we’ve got such a good partnership. We laugh at everything and nothing, and he’ll describe everything, and there was nothing to describe on Saturday apart from rain, clouds, and wind.
I was getting the wind, he was getting the puddles, and he was trying not to fall in the canal. We were singing and laughing; being depressed about the wet will not make you feel any better; it will just make it worse.”
Scott confesses that there were only a few technical sections for him, as the cobbles under bridges tended to be slippery, and there were times he had to zig-zag between people under David’s guidance.
“We get great rapport and incredible rapport; where everybody’s with the same mindset, of course, and the lovely comments I was getting when they realised I was blind. I think the realisation for people that I am blind, and I was running this 56-mile race shows them that if I can do it, they can do it.
Professing his undying love for the volunteer team, he was amazed at how supported and welcomed he felt by the GB Ultras Volunteer team: “They were just absolutely angels. You just walked up at the checkpoint, obviously soaking wet; you’re really cold, and the guys who come over grab the flask and see if you want water. Tailwind is amazing, and they offer you goodies; you don’t have to think or worry about anything!”
“The guys were just incredible. This was my first GB ultra event and will certainly not be my last.”
Scott did confess these stops where he enjoyed himself and connected to people around him may have hindered his time, but for his first ultramarathon, he “wanted to go out and just finished it.”
The rain continued to fall in grey sheets, saturating Scott and David; however, with each mile, Scott could hear the Glaswegian accent fade, and the Edinburgh accent take hold as he passed people. David described the canal boats and local dog walkers as they passed by, and they laughed and chatted.
Reaching the final stages of the race, upon learning he only had 7 miles until the finish line, Scott remembered how far 7 miles was from his sighted days: “And I’m putting that in my head. This is all we need to do.”
Credit: Ross Plant
As they neared the finish line, friends and family of Scott and David had arrived, their voices echoing above the others. Scotts late friend Jim had run the London Marathon with him in 2017, and as they crossed the finish line, they unveiled a Union Jack flag.
In his memory, Scott and David revealed the flag as they finally crossed the G2E finish line at 13:18:19. “That’s it, we’ve done it..” David said to Scott before they embraced in an explosion of gratitude, emotion and pride.
“I was just absolutely, very proud. It was very emotional, it really was, because for those reasons, I kept on thinking back to that day, 30 years ago, when I had lost my sight, and I was at rock bottom.
“Then, 50 weeks ago, I was in a recovery unit after getting four stents inserted, and I didn’t know what my future was. To be able to feel so strong, fit and healthy and finish that race having that iconic Union flag that we, Jim, had brought down to London to finish the marathon. Yeah, you couldn’t put any words to that feeling.”
Credit: Ross Plant
As previously mentioned, Scott was raising money for Guide Dogs UK. In 30 years, Scott has had four guide Dogs, with Lincoln being his current guide. Guide Dogs UK allowed Scott to regain confidence and learn to live as a blind person.
“I just wanted to give something back. I needed to give something back for my own mindset because I wanted somebody else to have the joy of an independent and active life that I have. I go skiing each year with a blind skiing group. I run every Saturday morning with David, countless marathons now, and that’s my life. I need my running fix every Saturday.
“I wouldn’t be speaking to you today without Guide Dogs UK because I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for guide dogs.”
Scott hopes to inspire not just other blind people but anyone who wants to run an ultramarathon. He said: “Doing five k’s or even running a mile, or running, just run for 10 minutes. You can build up, build up, build up. It’s so hard to turn it off once until you’ve actually done it.
“The adrenaline, how it clears any mental health issues, how it clears any stresses or strains that you’ve got. You’re totally free. Back then, I learned to trust my guide dogs. I trust Lincoln every single day.
“We’ll be going out for a walk after work today, a few miles, like we did at five this morning. You put your trust in your guide, you get a good guide, and they’ll be really good to you. But it’s not just that I want anybody to take heed; if a blind guy can do an ultra, what’s stopping you?”
You can support Guide Dogs UK through their website or through Scotts Fundraising Page.