Explorer At Heart

Hemiplegic Scots runner Andrew Tomlinson channels his spirit of adventure to record-breaking effect

- MAIRI HUGHES

THE day Andrew Tomlinson was born, his mother was told he may never walk. Complications during his birth had led him to develop cerebral palsy, which causes tight muscles and regular spasms, affecting mobility down one side of his body.

However, now aged 40, Andrew, from Glasgow, has completed all six of the world's major marathons, including setting a world record time for the fastest marathon by an athlete with hemiplegia (paralysis or weakness on one side of the body).

Before Andrew was a runner, he was a hiker.

"I've always had anxiety, and I find building relationships quite hard, so I've always set myself challenges," he said.

The first of these challenges came 11 years ago while he was in hospital recovering from a broken hip. Determined to make the most of his mobility once his hip healed, Andrew promised himself he would climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

After being discharged from hospital, he promptly started training for this, spending his weekends in the Campsie Fells and practising Gyrotonics to build muscle.

In 2017, he set off on his trek up Kilimanjaro. The climb was tough for Andrew, bringing with it constant nosebleeds and a bad fall which almost saw him give up.

However, not easily deterred, he pushed on and reached the peak. A keen rugby fan, he even planted a Glasgow Warriors flag at the summit.

Andrew became one of only a handful of people with cerebral palsy to make it to the summit of Kilimanjaro, and raised more than £2,000 for cerebral palsy charity Bobath Scotland in the process.

However, by 2019 Andrew found himself stuck in a rut, his anxiety worsening.