A new walk is to be launched in memory of Ellie MacDonald, a 23-year-old student who died from cancer just weeks after graduating from St Andrews University.
Ellie’s mum Michelle – who has overcome breast cancer twice – is set to join family and friends as well as more than 100 students on October 29 at Cambo Estate in Fife and walk the nine mile coastal picturesque path to finish at Castle Sands in St Andrews.
It’s a flagship event for 1 Million Miles for Ellie, an appeal to raise a million pounds for those touched by cancer.
The appeal which started last summer urges people to raise money by doing anything from a simple walk on the beach to a mountain climb, a kayaking expedition to a triathlon- all to beat cancer sooner.
Money raised will be split between Cancer Research UK, which funds research into 200 cancers, Maggie’s which offers free support to people with cancer as well as their family and friends, and Macmillan Cancer Support which provides practical, emotional, financial and medical support to anyone affected by cancer.
Michelle, 51, of North Uist said: “Ellie was so precious to all our family and meant everything to me.
“Ellie made a bucket list before she died and it was packed full of adventurous plans. It showed how she really believed anything was possible. We’re keen to capture that enthusiasm, energy and inspiration in 1 Million Miles for Ellie.
“Our family are so grateful to the amazing students at St Andrews University for supporting us. This walk is going to be a huge success. It will be a lovely chance for our family to retrace Ellie’s footsteps and see some of the places where she was happiest during her time at university.”
Participants will be encouraged to collect some stones on the walk to add to a cairn which will be created as a tribute to Ellie on the beach at Castle Sands. The walk is organised jointly by students who are members of the Don’t Walk fashion show committee and the St Andrews Charity Fashion Show committee.
Organiser Gabriela Flax, said: “Ellie’s spirit of adventure and determination lives on.
“We’re inspired by the appeal, its message and the impact Ellie had within the St Andrews community. The walk is really exciting as there is a perceived rivalry between the two fashion shows.
“By joining forces to contribute to a cause so close to us all as St Andrews university students, we are showing the rest of the student community that in fact there is no rivalry and that we can work to create something bigger and more meaningful together rather than separately.”
More than £70,000 has already been raised since 1 Million Miles for Ellie started last summer when hundreds of purple balloons soared in to the sky as a tribute to Ellie.
It was a chance for Ellie’s mum and dad, Michelle and Angus MacDonald, both 51, and for Ellie’s brothers Fraser, 23, and Alexander, 11, and sister Sarah, 19, to remember Ellie, who died on September 18, 2014.
More information on 1 Million Miles for Ellie is available at www.1millionmilesforellie.co.uk
