Paul Giblin's story is set in the wilderness.

It is a tale of the tough terrain of Scotland's mountain trails, although for the purposes of introducing one of the country's leading endurance athletes, we'll begin in the office.

It's a dreary Friday evening in November 2012. As colleagues begin to wind down, discussing their leisurely plans for the weekend, Giblin is focused on an epic expedition along the famous 96-mile West Highland Way in an attempt to break the route's winter record.

After travelling from Glasgow to Fort William, Giblin was in place to begin running the route at 10.30pm. At around 1am he developed excruciating pain in both eyes.

"When I got into Glencoe it was dark and freezing and my vision was blurry but the conditions were so bad under foot that you were just absolutely focused on not falling over," he says. Despite suffering pain "like someone poking needles in your eyes", Giblin managed to complete the route in 21hr and 03min, breaking the winter record by 11 minutes.

After the race it transpired both of his corneas had been frozen for most of the route. Picturing the Scot running through the pitch-black wilderness in sub-zero temperatures with excruciating pain in his eyes, you get a sense of his grit, determination and focus on the task at hand.

Was he assisted during the run? "My mum met me near Loch Lomond at about eight in the morning with some porridge and a fresh t-shirt, so I stopped for three or four minutes but then I was off again," he says. Giblin's route into running began only four years ago. A former mountain biker, the 37-year-old took to the treadmill in a bid to get fit. "I was spending a lot of time in the gym doing short sprints on the treadmill and naturally I just had the desire to run outside," he says.

After completing two 10k races, ultra-running was mentioned and Giblin made the decision to step up immediately. Out in the open, taking in Scotland's incredible scenery, it was everything he was looking for in a sport. Although he worked in one of the busiest offices in Glasgow managing the digital media team at Glasgow 2014, Giblin also managed to fit in a marathon 120 miles of training each week.

He laughs when describing his weekly routine, which kicks off with a 4.24am alarm on a Monday. Giblin's schedule includes two runs of between six and 10 miles each on weekdays. Saturday is dedicated to a longer run of around 40 miles and a "recovery run" on a Sunday rounds off his week's training.

In June, Giblin completed his fourth West Highland Way race and broke the course record, becoming the first person to break the 15-hour barrier for the punishing 96-mile route. In the build-up to the race, he felt added pressure as competitors spoke of their intentions to smash the race record. In keeping with his unassuming personality, Giblin let his running do the talking. "I didn't just get under 15 hours, it was 14.20, so I absolutely hammered it," he says.

His record-breaking achievements in the race did not go unnoticed. Giblin was selected as part of the Great Britain team for the 100km World Championships in Doha and pulled on the GB vest for the first time yesterday.

In preparation for the World Championships, Giblin has spent the past six weeks training at altitude in Flagstaff, Arizona. Living and breathing the sport he loves, he found himself following incredible trails through the Grand Canyon, training with some of the best ultra-runners in the world.

And Giblin did not disgrace himself yesterday when he took on some of the best ultra-distance road runners on the planet. He was first Briton home in 10th place (6hr 56min 12sec). Not bad for someone who admits that "100k road races are not naturally where I'd find myself running".

Giblin may have just had his first taste of international competition in a GB vest but, if the mental and physical toughness displayed throughout his career in the sport to date is anything to go by, it will not be his last.