Tracey Brown (42), of Kings Road, ran the Edinburgh Marathon last May with little more than a year’s experience and now she is ready to tackle a gruelling 53-mile ‘ultra marathon’ as she takes her hobby to the next level.

“Doing the Edinburgh Marathon gave me confidence to push my body further,” she said. “When I crossed the finish line I realised I could do this and I wanted to see how much further I could go.

“On Saturday I’m doing the Highland Fling which is a 53-mile trail race along the West Highland Way. I’m part of a relay team so I’m not doing the full thing this year but I’ve got the hilliest leg! And I have a funny feeling I’ll be entering the full fling next year.” After this weekend, Tracey will continue her training to get ready for two more long-distance dashes this year – in September she’s heading to the Inner Hebrides to take in the Tiree Ultramarathon, a 35-mile route across beautiful island scenery, and then in October she will face what’s hailed as the toughest marathon in Scotland at Glencoe.

“I’m looking forward to them all,” she said. “They’re all different and all challenging.

“We’re going to have a family holiday in Tiree at the same time so I’ll run the marathon and then chill out for the rest of the week with my girls and hubby!

“I saw after I signed up for Glencoe that it was said to be the toughest marathon but my husband has done it and said it was a fantastic race. It’s good to do something different. I like how you can get lost in the scenery, though hopefully not literally!

“We’re an outdoor family and the little ones have some fun runs coming up as well. It’s nice to all get out together and they enjoy it.” As well as her series of ultra marathons, Tracey also has a few “smaller” 10K races planned in between.

“It takes a lot of commitment,” she admitted. “I have two daughters aged six and four and it can be difficult trying to fit so much in. I drop one off at school, the other at nursery and then I try to squeeze in a run along the coastal path before I collect the little one from nursery. Then I do longer runs on a Saturday or Sunday. There’s not enough hours in the day!” While running for her own enjoyment, Tracey is also fund-raising for Project Northern Lights, which aims to build the skills, experience and confidence of young people in Scotland aged 15-25 who have no formal qualifications.

“I wanted to choose a charity from Scotland and it’s also the chosen charity for the Glencoe Marathon this year,” she said. “It’s heart wrenching to choose just one charity – if I could run for them all I would!

“It’s rewarding at the end of the day. When I crossed the finish line at the Edinburgh Marathon last year I was an emotional wreck. I had done it and raised money for a good cause. I knew I wanted to do another one.” Since taking up running just before her 40th birthday, Tracey has lost almost five stone in weight and is happy that she managed to find something that she loves.

“Running has now become my passion, I love it,” she said. “It gives me a bit of ‘me time’ and lets me relax and clear my head. It’s nice to get out there and it doesn’t matter to me if it’s raining or snowing! I’ve gone from not running to marathons to ultra marathons. I feel comfortable and I don’t really get days that I don’t want to go out.” To help Tracey raise money for Project Northern Lights, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TraceyBrown4