A STIRLING based entrepreneur will take on a "daunting task" over the next six months in support of the Special Olympics Anniversary Games.

It is extremely unlikely, but if well-known Scots businessman Craig J Lemmon falls down at your door in the next few months, there will be an honourable and justifiable reason for it.

For, as in The Proclaimers’ famous song, he is going to walk 500 miles – and he will walk 500 more – just to be the man who walks 1000 miles to help the athletes of the 2018 Special Olympics GB 40th Anniversary Games.

Craig, inspired by the courage and determination of the 1200 athletes from across the UK and Europe who will compete at Stirling University in August this year, has set himself the gruelling 1000-mile challenge which he hopes will raise £25,000 to help the games participants.

Between now and the opening ceremony on August 9, the CEO and co-founder of Miigen, the fast-growing new social media site for senior life living, will walk every day to cover a mileage not far short of the distance between Glasgow and Berlin.

Miigen is a proud sponsor of the anniversary games and Craig is a strong supporter of the Special Olympics values.

He said: “These athletes overcome great challenges every day and I wanted to recognise that by setting myself a daunting task which I hope will benefit the visiting competitors and their proud families.”

Craig will be measuring out the miles using a FitBit, the electronic activity and exercise tracker which tallies up the number of steps a wearer takes each day. 

You can follow his journey on the games Facebook page.

He said: “My step measures 29 inches, so that means I have to take 2184 steps to rack up a mile.

"That, in turn, means that I will have to record 2,184,000 steps before the first week in August. It is a formidable prospect.”

Craig has already got off to a flying start by leaving the car in the garage and walking to work each day, a round trip of eight miles.

He also enjoys scenic walks around his Stirling home at weekends.

As well as benefiting the Special Olympics athletes, Craig’s challenge will have the added personal advantage of fighting his own diabetes by losing weight and ramping up his exercise regime.

He is also intending to finish his 1000-mile challenge with a bang.

He will save the last few miles for the day of the SOGB Opening Ceremony and will then enter the stadium to a rousing fund-raising announcement about his achievement.

He added: “The Chinese have a saying: the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. So, just 2,183,999 to go after that.”