A sporting champ has told how jelly babies helped him smash the West Highland Way cycle record by almost an hour.
Gary Macdonald’s body started shutting down near the end of the gruelling 96-mile challenge but the sweets gave him the sugar rush he needed to carry on.
The 36-year-old joiner cycled from Milngavie, near Glasgow, to Fort William in nine hours, 28 minutes and 34 seconds.
He beat the previous record of 10 hours and 27 minutes, set in 2015 by endurance legend Keith Forsyth.
Gary, an 11-time Scottish motorcycle trials champion and current Scottish cyclocross champion, had never cycled the West Highland Way before.
After he set off from Milngavie at 5.55am on Friday, he hit thick fog for an hour-and-a-half, and couldn't see 20 yards in front of him.
Then, as he approached Tyndrum, the temperature rose to 25C.
Gary said: “By the time I reached Bridge of Orchy, I had hit a brick wall and my legs didn’t feel attached to my body.
"I had many ups and downs to Fort William, my body shutting down, but thankfully the jelly babies kept me going.”
Gary was greeted at the finishing line by family and friends. He celebrated by having a few beers with former record holder Keith, who gave him advice for the race, the next day.
