More than 100 runners put their hands in their pockets yesterday to raise money for a north-east woman with terminal cancer.
Marie Dobson estimates she raised more than £3,000 from her Run4Marie day, organised at Haddo House near Ellon.
The 36-year-old from Newmachar was recently diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, with the disease spreading to her bones.
The illness has robbed the personal trainer of being able to run and take exercise, having previously run the 400m hurdles competitively with Aberdeen Athletics Club.
She said she decided to set up the 5km fun run and family relay to create a sporting legacy for herself.
Money raised from the day is being put towards Ms Dobson’s “positivity pot”, a fund established to help her make every second count and pay for various therapies.
A donation will also be made to the Coppafeel! charity for the help they have provided her throughout her cancer battle.
Originally aimed at getting some of her friends and family out for a run, Ms Dobson said she was “amazed” to receive entries from running groups as far away as Fife.
She added: “When I put out the entries, I thought it would be friends, family and people from my running group.
“But it travelled so far and wide it was all different kinds of people –from Queensferry, Glenrothes and Peterhead.
“It was amazing and I’m honoured they came to run from me.”
“My favourite thing about it was seeing people who had never run before do it for me.
“My Auntie Diane had never done a 5km in her life but she did for me – my partner Neil did too.”
Ms Dobson hopes the run at the Aberdeenshire estate could become an annual event and has enlisted two of her friends to help make that happen.
She added: “I thought if I created a race this year, it could be held in future years too.
“If even one person gets the bug or sees what I love about running – that will be a legacy for me.”
A number of businesses backed the special event, with support coming from Aberness, Run4It and Learmonth Electrical Consultants among others.