Max's hat trick (From Penarth Times)

Max's hat trick

A PENARTH man is pushing his endurance to the very limit by running his second round of triple Marathons, again in the space of six months - and all in the name of charity.

Max Scott-Cook was 60 years old when he took on the Cardiff, London and New York Marathons in 2004.

Now, a year later, the retired teacher is heading off on the last leg in his latest task, which will take him to the warmer climes of Rome to raise money for his chosen good cause, Weston Spirit.

Max said: "I've been a huge backer of Weston Spirit for many years.

"Simon Weston, who helped set up the charity, is my hero.

"It aims to support young people, helping them with their personal development, confidence and self-esteem.

"Last year, I set out to raise 15,000 to celebrate the charity's 15th birthday.

"After achieving that, I have found it difficult to raise a huge amount of funds for this attempt

"I don't want to visit the wonderful Penarth sponsors who helped me so generously last year.

"But I was delighted with the Penarth Round Table, who donated 500 to my appeal."

Max has to raise a minimum of 1,250 to allow him to take part in this fantastic adventure, but now that he's collected half of that, his place in the Marathon is assured and he'll soon be running against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. But it's been a bit of a struggle this time.

Max said: "I've had highs and lows this time. I strained my achilles tendon running in Cardiff, so running New York four weeks later was very hard.