CHARITY challenges have become a feature of lockdown and one Dunfermline family pulled on their running shoes for 26 consecutive hours.

Teenager Niamh McGirr, along with elder sibling Orlaith and dad Ronan, embarked on an epic effort to run a mile an hour to raise money and awareness for Scoliosis Association UK.

Scoliosis, which Niamh, 14, has been diagnosed with, is a condition in which the spine twists and curves to the side.

According to NHS information, scoliosis can affect people of any age but most often starts in children aged between 10-15, and can require surgery in more extreme cases.

Having been inspired by others taking on fundraising efforts as part of the '2.6 Challenge', created to help charities across the UK after the cancellation of the London Marathon, Niamh had set out to raise £260.

But her efforts, and those of 15-year-old Orlaith, a Highland dancer and basketball player with Dunfermline Reign, and Ronan, an active member of BOXRapid, in running 26 miles over 26 hours, saw donations reach £1,553, which will help the organisation offer support to families and conduct further research.

Niamh, a competitive cheerleader with Spotlight Cheer and Dance, said: "It (scoliosis) doesn't affect me that much.

"It gives me a bit of pain but it only increases when I'm doing something like running marathons!

"When we saw that money started to come in, that gave us a real lift."

Mum Carole explained: "We've got three girls and my middle daughter (Niamh) has scoliosis.

"On her bucket list was to run a marathon and she decided she wanted to run 26 miles in 26 hours. She saw it on Tik Tok and, when she first started, it wasn't necessarily a fundraiser.

"But, six or seven miles in, we thought why not?

"They did really well. They're very chuffed!"

Having started their run at 11am the previous day, the trio completed their marathon effort at around 12.15pm last Monday, and Ronan joked: "I'm still sore!

"It was a cool thing to do and it was a challenge, especially when it was pouring down with rain and it was pouring down with rain. It was probably a bigger challenge than we thought it would be.

"It was a bonding challenge, as my daughter said, and I'm glad we did it. I'm really proud of them."

The fundraising page set up by Niamh, who posted a video of finishing the run on her Tik Tok page at @_niamh__123, remains open at www.gofundme.com/f/run-26miles-in-26hrs-for-scoliosis-awareness-uk.