STRONG SOUT

Commando training and marathon runs come in handy for Alan as he edges an epic at Ally Pally

- BY CRAIG SWAN

ALAN SOUTAR soldiered through a marathon whilst lugging the weight of Scotland's expectation.

The Tartan ace came through a sudden-death epic against Teemu Harju at Ally Pally.

It was a 72-minute slog against the Finn before he hit the winning shot after previously missing 15 darts to seal the deal, whilst also surviving match darts from his opponent.

Soutar hardly had a problem going the distance. He's about to run the London Marathon in April and has been a commando, so marching up and down to the board for over an hour while being pounded by English fans was no issue.

He said: "I was getting the steps in, weren't I? My watch is going crazy. It's like: How many steps do you want to do? Just get this finished. You're overtraining.

"I've done half marathons. I was a commando soldier so I've done 30-milers. That was 20 years ago though. Obviously I'm still a firefighter so I go on the treadmill and do a bit of running.