Charity walk close to Carrie's heart

A CAPITAL photographer is set to take on a walking challenge in memory of her '˜best friend', who tragically passed away just weeks before his 50th birthday.
Carrie, second left, and friends from Sing in the City Linkers who will join her on the walkCarrie, second left, and friends from Sing in the City Linkers who will join her on the walk
Carrie, second left, and friends from Sing in the City Linkers who will join her on the walk

Carrie Preston will trek 24 miles in the Edinburgh Kiltwalk this Sunday to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) as a tribute to Chris Campbell, less than three months after his sudden passing in June.

Snapper Carrie says she is hoping to raise hundreds of pounds for the charity when she takes on the epic 24-mile Mighty Stride event that winds through the capital this weekend.

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The seasoned charity walker says she isn’t daunted by the distance, revealing she is absolutely determined to complete the challenge in memory of the man she described as being like a ‘twin brother’.

Carrie added: “Chris was my best friend. He was like a twin brother to me as we were born just six days apart. Sadly he died in June, two weeks before his 50th birthday. He had congestive heart failure and the last six months of his life were really difficult. But he had lots of support from family and friends and was so happy to marry his partner Scott in April and I was his best gal at the wedding.”

She continued: “When my own 50th birthday came round in July we ended up turning it into a fundraising event. We wore red and celebrated Chris’s life – he was the life and soul of any party. I was so pleased we raised nearly £300.”

The route will see walkers cross the start line at Holyrood Park before stretching down as far as Musselburgh and looping back up through the city to finish at Murrayfield Stadium.

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Carrie’s trek will raise funds for the BHF’s lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases, including congestive heart failure.

Chris’s dad and three brothers all passed away from similar illnesses in their 40s, giving Carrie and her friends even more drive to complete the walk in the hope that future generations of families won’t suffer the heartbreak that the Campbell family has.

Figures released by the BHF in 2017 revealed that up to 50,000 people across Scotland have a faulty gene which could potentially cause an inherited heart-related condition, while as many as 48,000 are estimated to have previously suffered from conditions like congestive heart failure.

Carrie will be joined on the Kiltwalk by fellow members of Sing in the City Linkers, the community choir in Newington, Edinburgh, where she’s been singing for more than five years.

Carrie said: “Had he been well enough I know that Chris would have been there with us.”

She added: “I know the Kiltwalk will be emotional, especially crossing that finish line.“