TWO Scottish child abuse survivors will run the London marathon next month to raise funds for the NSPCC and its services, including Childline.
Nial Mackinlay from Perthshire and Niall Murphy from Glasgow are taking on the run for the children’s charity on Sunday, April 27, as part of a team of eight men and women from across the UK, Spain and the USA.
Nial was a pupil at Edinburgh Academy during the 1970s where he was abused by two masters.
He thought what happened to him when he was nine was “locked in a box forever” until July 2022, when he heard the broadcaster Nicky Campbell – who had been in the year above him – speak publicly about his own experience of abuse at the school.
Nial, 62, said: “After listening to the podcast I spoke to Nicky, and he confirmed that the teacher he’d talked about was also my abuser.
”It was like someone had punched me in the stomach.
”The floodgates burst open. It was a hugely emotional phone call which I will never forget.”
Nial said the abuse he suffered meant he has had difficulty trusting people and maintaining relationships.
He decided to take on the marathon, despite never having run before, after trekking last year to Everest Base Camp with Team Uprising – a group of child abuse survivors and supporters who raised over £50,000 for the NSPCC.
The funds they raise through running the marathon will go towards supporting NSPCC services.
These include Childline, the charity’s free counselling service for children; the adult Helpline for reporting concerns about a child; and the charity’s educational programmes, such as Talk PANTS and Speak out Stay safe, which aim to help prevent child abuse and neglect.
Nial, who is a keen hillwalker, said: “Childline (run by the NSPCC) didn’t exist when I was at school.
“Most of us literally told no one, including our parents, because of the shame and embarrassment.
“We were taught to always respect our elders – we had no idea that what was happening to us was sexual abuse.
“We thought it was in some way ‘normal’ because one of the elder generation was subjecting us to it.
“If my fundraising can help just one child then it’s more than worth it.
“I want to help other children avoid having to go through what I have been through.”
Niall Murphy was abused by a teacher, John Brownlee, and by another pupil when he was a boarder at Edinburgh Academy, he had a nervous breakdown at school, lost his faith in God, and subsequently attempted suicide when he was only 12 years old.
Niall, 53, who lives in the south side of Glasgow, said: “It’s taken me many years to be able to talk about what happened at school and now I want to be more upfront because I think this is how you can recover from it.
“I shouldn’t be feeling ashamed by this anymore.
“Team Uprising had always planned to do another challenge to raise more money for the NSPCC.
“I have never run before so I started with the Couch to 5k last September and I’m on a training plan so that I should be ready for the marathon in April.
“I want to raise money for the NSPCC to help prevent abuse happening to other children.
“Childline was not available to me, and I really wish it had been. It would have been invaluable at a time when I felt I had no one to turn to for help.
“It would have been a lifeline for me when I was going through the darkest and loneliest time of my life.”
Paul Cockram, NSPCC Scotland head of supporter fundraising, said: “We are delighted that members of Team Uprising continues to raise funds for the NSPCC and we’d like to thank them for all their efforts.
“Many of the team have never run before and the London marathon is no small feat – we really admire them for taking on this massive challenge for us.
“Voluntary donations make up about 90 per cent of our funding in Scotland so without people’s generous support we would be unable to continue to deliver Childline and many more services that contribute towards helping to keep children safe.”
Young people looking for support can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk – which is available to all young people until their 19th birthday.
Any adult concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000 or emailing help@NSPCC.org.uk but should call the police on 999 straight away if they think a child is in immediate danger.
