Memories came flooding back to Bernard Shepherd as he completed his seventh Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run 10k to raise funds for a cause close to his heart.

The 72-year-old supply teacher, who lives in Kilmarnock, has been supporting mental health charities ever since his son Mark committed suicide.

Mark’s death seven years ago, just weeks before his 30th birthday, spurred Bernard on to take up running and he has been a regular on the 5k and 10k race circuit ever since.

And while his preparations for his latest Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run were hampered by aches and pains, Bernard revealed how he found pounding the streets of Glasgow cathartic.

“My son lived out in Glasgow from about 21, he went to university there, and we met up fairly regularly in the city in different spots and places,” he said.

“We spent some time in Glasgow Green itself, because it’s a fairly iconic place, and we did once for a music festival as he was really into his music and I went with him.

“It kind of ended up as a drinking session and that bit of memory comes up every time I’m at Glasgow Green, particularly when I was going up to the Obelisk where the finish is.

“The memories are always there and there are various different places that bring them up. I just need to run past a particular area and it triggers special memories for me.

“From that point of view, running is kind of cathartic I suppose and then the fact that you’ve just finished the race - it’s not an easy thing especially from a physical side.

“When you get to my age to do these things are not easy, but I just keep doing it. I finished in 1hr 41mins, which I thought was not too bad all things considered.”

Not only did Bernard complete the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run, he also organised for more than 30 pupils and staff from Cumnock and Auchinleck Academies to run the race with him.

They were all running on behalf of the Scottish Mental Health Association and Bernard was overwhelmed with the support he received from the two schools.

“In total, there was 36 of us running as three pulled out at the last minute, with 23 kids and the rest staff, so it was great to get both schools involved in it,” he said.

“I’ve now done seven of these Great Scottish Run 10k races over the years and it was probably the best of the bunch, even though I was fairly anxious before it.

“The end result looks like, conservatively, we’re going to raise something like £1,500 but we might even manage to get to £2,000 once the final totals are in.

“The charity is one of many mental health charities that needs support and to be able to help them, particularly the young people who are affected by mental health, is great.

“It’s a very worthwhile charity and the fact that I’ve been involved over seven years with them and other charities just shows how much the cause means to me.”

Bernard was running as part of the Community Challenge, launched by sponsors Bank of Scotland to help get Scotland active – with the programme in its second year.

The campaign aimed to recruit one runner from each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland to take on a ‘10 week to 10k’ running challenge, with Bernard representing East Ayrshire.

As part the ‘10 week to 10k’ challenge, he received a personalised training programme by an expert coach in the weeks leading up to the run, which took place on September 30.

And with Bernard showing no signs of slowing down his running exploits anytime soon, he has already set his sights on racing again next year to continue his fundraising mission.

“There are loads of different worries for me in the build-up and on the day, so for it to go as well as it did - it’s just a massive buzz,”

Bank of Scotland is celebrating its 10th year as partner of the Great Scottish Run. For more information, visit greatscottishrun.com/community-challenge.