AN IT worker from Bishopton celebrated being cancer-free for a year by completing the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run.

Emma Benstead braved the rain and wind to pound the streets of Glasgow for the annual 10k on Sunday.

The 42-year-old was representing Renfrewshire as part of the Bank of Scotland Community Challenge, which saw one person from each local authority area selected to take on the run in a '10 weeks to 10k' challenge.

Emma also had the chance to meet Olympians Eilidh Doyle and Jo Pavey at the finish line.

After being diagnosed with cancer six years ago, Emma said it was emotional to complete the race.

She said: “The run itself came at a big milestone moment for me.

“We passed message boards, and my husband had made one for me around kilometre nine, although I didn’t actually see him.

“Crossing the finish line, you just feel really emotional and overwhelmed by the whole thing.

“It’s hard for me to understand where I was six years ago when I was initially diagnosed, because of all my treatment.

"I feel so much stronger now, and everything like this that I can do and achieve, it just helps make sure I never go back to that place.

“I want to keep building on my fitness, getting my mental health back together, just keeping on doing these things, small challenges and moving forward, and that’s the most important thing for me.”

The course started at George Square in the heart of Scotland's biggest city, with runners passing the iconic scenery of the centre before a tree-lined finish in the shadow of Nelson’s Monument at Glasgow Green.

Emma, who works in IT, started a Facebook group for her fellow runners as part of the Community Challenge.

And she revealed there were plans in place to reunite the group for a future run.

She added: “I wanted us to try and find everybody and get us onto a page where we could talk about the challenge, doing the blogs, interviews, it’s all quite new and comes with its challenges.

“It was a good place for people to go and talk about the challenge and their training – we’re all at different levels of ability, some are confident runners, some had run years ago, some hadn’t run for a while because of health problems.

“And it meant it was such a fun day. We were dancing outside the VIP tent in the rain during the warm-up. If we had met for the first time on Sunday, it would not have been the same.

“We’re already talking about meeting up for another run."

Bank of Scotland supported runners from communities across Scotland on a 10 weeks to 10k challenge for the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run Community Challenge.

For more information, visit greatscottishrun.com/community-challenge