Edinburgh personal trainer to run 55km around the capital for a great cause
An Edinburgh man will take on a gruelling challenge this summer – running the circumference of the capital to raise money for charity.
Angus Maclean, from Gorgie, will run 55km this June in memory of his grandma, Alma Esrkine, who sadly passed away from breast cancer in 2016. Funds raised will go to Marie Curie and help support families facing cancer.
Speaking to the Evening News, the 24-year-old said: “It was Marie Curie nurses that helped my grandma in her final weeks and days, but they also helped us as a family. So it's always been in the back of my mind to do a challenge and give back in a way.
“When I was growing up in Gilmerton, it was mainly my grandma that would look after us, she used to do the school runs and pick us up from school. My brother and I were lucky to have our grandparents close by, they only lived five minutes away and they were always there for us.
“My grandma passed away quite a long time ago, but I think now I'm in a position where I can actually make an impact and help other people. My grandad received exceptional aftercare from them and he actually does the gardening for Marie Curie to support them because they helped him so much. So I feel like this is my way of helping them and I’ll try to raise as much funds as I can for them.”
Angus, who has worked at Land Warrior Core Gym in Dalkeith for the last three years, has completed several half marathons in the past and even ran full marathon distances in his spare team. But his new challenge of running the permitter of Edinburgh – 13km longer than a full marathon - will bring a new challenge.
He said: “I've had the idea of doing some sort of challenge for about a year now, but the circumference of Edinburgh thing was sort of a spur of the moment idea. I’ll run the perimeter of Edinburgh and I'm planning to finish in the city centre so it'll be about a 55 to 57 kilometre run.
“Physically I feel ready for it. I'm a little bit nervous because I know mentally it's going to be really tough, especially because I don't know what the weather conditions are going to be. I’m also making plans for people to join me for the last 5km but I'm still trying to figure out where start and end points will be for that.”
You can support Angus by donating to his JustGiving Page. And for updates and to see how you can get involved, you can follow him on Instagram.