A born and bred Dundonian athlete is planning to return to the city this weekend to complete a marathon in memory of his late mother.
Alistair Thomson, an accountant who now lives in Edinburgh, will run through Dundee in order to raise money for Marie Curie.
The 35-year-old has chosen to run a marathon every month this year in an effort to raise money for the cancer charity, who supported his mother, Sue, during her battle with breast cancer.
He said: “My mum had breast cancer about 15 years ago, but it went away then came back in September of last year.
“She had three to four rounds of chemo but unfortunately she died in January.
“I wanted to do something give a bit of money back to them – sort of as a thank you for everything they’ve done for us, so I decided to run a marathon every month.
“Marie Curie just took such good care of her the whole time, I just really want to give them something in return for all they did.”
‘I grew up in Dundee’
So far, Alistair has run two marathons in his home area of Lothian and another in Fife.
Now he plans to return home in an effort to run the length of the city he grew up in.
He said: “I wanted to do one in Dundee and Broughty Ferry because it’s where I grew up.
“I went to Eastern Primary and then Dundee High, I lived in the city until I was 18 and went off to university.
“It’s where I lived as a baby and my dad still owns a flat on Brook Street that he goes up to.
“The other two marathons haven’t been too difficult, I think that the second one was probably the hardest for me, but hopefully they should keep getting easier.”
‘I just want to say thank you’
So far the runner had managed to raise over £18,000 in memory of his mother, astonishing him and his family.
Over £15,000 have been raised through GoFundMe alone and the Pears Foundation, a charity which assists fundraisers, have helped to bring the amount up to around £18,000.
“I’m so proud and staggered by what we’ve been able to raise,” he said. “It’s really amazing.
“Everyone’s just been blown away, my wife keeps saying that it’s just shown how much people loved my mum.
“I just want to say a big thank you to all of them, it’s been amazing seeing all this support, it’s what keeps me going.”
To support Alistair’s page, click here.