AN AYR schoolteacher is taking on the Scottish Half Marathon next month to raise money for vital PE equipment.

Paul Macfarlane, who is employed at Southcraig School, will run over 21 kilometres to help fund extra sports equipment to benefit pupils.

Mr Macfarlane said: “I’ve been working at Southcraig for almost two years in different roles, and I have a real passion for PE and sport.

“I felt like I could help fund-raise for some equipment that the school and pupils could do with, so I decided to do the half marathon.

“I want to get pupils the best things possible so they are able to experience a variety of sports at a young age.”

The 39-year-old has not run a half marathon in around 20 years but hopes he can complete the event in Glasgow again.

He said: “I used to run about 20 years ago, and my last real run of any kind was back in 2017.

“I had an operation on my knee when I was 23 and that put an end to it for a while, but I’ve got the confidence to give it a go again now.

“I wanted to do something that was challenging but that would also raise some money to benefit the school and the kids who go here.

“Training started back in July and has been going well, with a variety of distances and routes around the area.

“My personal goal is to run in under two hours, so hopefully I can keep up a good pace and go round well.”

Paul has already smashed his initial £400 target, and is now aiming to raise £1,000 for new equipment.

He added: “Originally I was aiming fairly low at around £400, but now that fund-raising has been going reasonably well, if I can get over £1,000 that would be fantastic.

“It would mean that I wouldn’t just have to look at immediate needs, but also look at what would be great experiences for the kids.

“Short term I want to get some more boccia sets, and a bag of basketballs, footballs, and spongey tennis balls as well.

“It's a fantastic community we have here, everyone really bonds together and cares about the children and young people’s progress.

Donations can be made at gofundme.com/f/umy9d-donate-to-help-southcraig-school.