Dunfermline: Marathon runners raise close to £10,000 Wee Jamie Tierney

A total of 12 first-time marathon runners donned their trainers for the Edinburgh Marathon to help fund treatment for the four year-old.

The Pitcorthie Nursery school pupil was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) last year and requires regular trips abroad to undergo vital infusion treatment which, it is hoped, will help build his muscles and delay the condition.

Andrew Mcfarlane, who was one of those who completed the gruelling run last month, said they were spurred on to help their former school friend's son.

"Four of us went to school, from nursery, primary school and high school with wee Jamie's dad," she said. "We had spoken about doing a marathon for a while and thought you what, let's do it for that.

Jamie Tierney. (Image: Contributed)

"The training was pretty hard to get yourself out because it was wintertime but everyone really put the effort in. It was everybody's first marathon and the atmosphere was amazing. Some of us were going for times, and others just to finish it.

"As it stands, we have raised £9,946 of a thousand target so we are overwhelmed with everyone's generosity."

Wee Jamie's mum, Bobbie Tierney, said they had been blown away by the group's efforts while another friend also ran the half marathon for Jamie too.

"It is all Jamie's friends who had decided to do this. When they first said they were doing the marathon we were so grateful but the minute we saw the gofundme page, we were blown away. We couldn't believe how well they had done.

"They raised over £9,000 which is just unbelievable and they have done it all off their own back. We are just so appreciative – it is almost half a treatment."

As fundraising continues to help Jamie, Bobbie confirmed the charity JT Cup will return next month – on July 29 at Pitreavie Playing Fields – after the inaugural event last summer.

"We are doing a five a side tournament but also going to be dong a big fun day as well – we are aiming for it to be even bigger than last year," she said. "Last year was a great success and this year we are going to try and get bigger and better. We are going to have stalls, inflatables and food. We really want to make this as big as possible."

The family are set to be back on the their travels this week for the Jamie's latest infusion treatment.

The JT Cup will take place next month. (Image: Contributed)

"We are going back to America this time which is better because it is less flying and it is where he went for his booster treatment and he is getting the booster and treatment together," added Bobbie. "We felt we got better results there last time.

"Jamie's treatment is washed out at the moment. The first time (he got treatment) we noticed he maybe wasn't as strong in certain areas but he is still full of energy after the last one. He seems a lot better this time. We are hoping this is building some form of muscles inside him and hoping we get this and the results keep coming.

"There are a lot of things in the pipeline within the DMD world. In America, there's other treatments coming through so we are staying on top of everything out there.

"The cure is our end goal. Things seems to be coming thick and fast although not as fast we we would like it to be. We need to keep him as strong as we can and hopefully one of these new treatments come through, "He is happy and enjoying his life and right now that is what we want as his parents."

Anyone wanting to find out more about fundraising can do so by visiting the Wee Jamies Journey Facebook page.