Prisoners at Polmont Young Offenders Institute were joined by Glasgow Warriors scrum-half Mark McMillan as they trained for the Poppyscotland Hearts & Heroes Challenge.

The four youngsters will complete the 29-mile run within the institute’s grounds to raise money for veterans and injured sportsmen and women in Scotland. This will coincide with the official event which will take place in the Scottish borders on the 16 May. They will be sponsored by their fellow prisoners, staff, family and friends, to raise money for charities Poppyscotland and Hearts & Balls.
 
McMillan was on hand to give some preparation advice at their weekly training circuit and was very impressed by the participants’ level of fitness.

Polmont team member, Michael Higgins, 19, explained that he was enjoying the training and is looking forward to raising money for the good causes behind the challenge. He said: “I’m already quite fit because I do a lot of training in the gym, but I want to improve my fitness so that I can give this a good shot. It’s good to have something to focus on and keep you busy in here and I’m trying to cut down on my smoking to make things a bit easier.”

Chief Executive of Poppyscotland, Jim Panton, told of how pleased he is that people from all walks of life have signed up for the fund raiser and said: “Its fantastic that the Polmont Young Offenders team have shown so much enthusiasm for the challenge and I would like to wish them and all of the other participants the very best of luck.”