Parisienne Runways

Hoops fan, Paul McGrotty will never run alone when he takes part in the upcoming Paris Marathon.

A DEDICATED Celtic fan is making another marathon effort to fly the flag for the champions.

Last year Paul McGrotty completed the full London Marathon while carrying a Celtic flag – but he didn’t run alone…

And next month he’s planning to repeat the feat on the streets of Paris when he runs the 26-mile course.

As the 53-year-old from Newton Mearns finalised his preparations, he was invited to run a few circuits inside Paradise as part of his training run.

Stopping for a short breather, he explained to the View why he wanted to again salute Brendan Rodgers’ side, who are closing in on a seventh successive title and remain in the hunt for back-to-back trebles.

“Last year I went down to London and did the marathon there and I took the Celtic flag with me,” he said. “The plan was to run with it at the start but I just ended up running the whole distance - 26 miles. It was the day of the Scottish Cup semi-final when we beat Rangers. I heard a guy coming behind me with only a mile to go and he was singing, ‘Here we go, 10 in a row’. I turned round and he’s running with a Celtic scarf!

“The two of us ran by Buckingham Palace and over the finish line singing, ‘Here we go, 10 in a row’, and I’ve kept in touch with him. His name is John Cassidy, and he goes to every single game home and away. He’s running in the London Marathon.