A north-east man and his fiancee have raised over £5000 for charity in memory of his late mother.
Aboyne resident Ewan Baird and his fiance Ashleigh Craigmile are running the London Marathon on April 24.
They got the idea last year whilst sitting watching the 2015 event from his mother’s bedside in Aboyne Hospital.
Mr Baird’s mum was Ailsa Baird, a prominent and popular community member in Aboyne.
He said: “She was the President of Aboyne Craft Club, President of Deeside Heritage Society, President of the Glasgow University Club of Aberdeen and a trustee of the Victory Hall in Aboyne at one point too.
“Sadly, she developed breast cancer in 2006. It was successfully treated but re-emerged in 2014. She died a year later in August 2015.
“We are doing this for mum and for everyone else going through what she did.
“Running the marathon was something that both Ashleigh and myself wanted to do. It’s a fantastic way to help raise money to help find a cure to beat this insidious disease.”
Both are attempting a marathon for the first time, but Ms Craigmile agreed it was a great way to both commemorate and raise charity cash.
She said: “I am most definitely not a runner! But it was painful to watch Ewan’s mum endure her end-of-life treatment, which she approached with a tremendous spirit and good sense of humour where possible.
“Ewan took seven months off work to become a full-time carer for his mother.”
Mr Baird is currently working offshore and is having to fit in training on a treadmill. He is due back two days before getting to the start line and is hoping all the training will have paid of.
He said: “It would be really great to cross the line together.”
