Parents and friends do Calum Mackintosh proud in Edinburgh Marathon
It was a hugely emotional run in memory of Kingussie shinty club starlet Calum Mackintosh in the city’s capital yesterday.
His parents Ann and Iain along with clubmates and friends took part in the Edinburgh Marathon to raise funds for local heart-screening of young adults.
Calum died from a sudden cardiac arrest aged just 19 in November 2023 whilst a second year student taking a law course at the city’s Napier University.
He was Dux of Grantown Grammar School in 2021 and had been named Kingussie's young player of the season after a break-out season at the Dell which included an instrumental role in lifting the 2023 Camanachd Cup.
Yesterday, two teams ‘Chasing Baikie for Cal’ and ‘Chasing Baikie for CRY’ ran after Calum’s best mate Eoin Baikie through the city to raise the vital funds.
And it was Eoin who prevailed - finishing in a time of 3 hours 19 minutes.
He was followed home by Ann’s relay team ‘Chasing Baikie for Cal’ in a time of 3 hours 29 minutes and then Iain's team ‘Chasing Baikie for CRY’ in 3 hours 34 minutes.
So far £11,495 has been raised by the weekend’s runners - smashing the £7,000 target.
Ann told the Strathy: “Sunday was hugely emotional for everyone but Iain and I are very grateful for the support from the other runners and all of the people who travelled to Edinburgh to cheer us on.
“We have raised an incredible amount of money for cardiac screenings locally and hopefully did Calum proud ‘Chasing Baikie’.”
The first screenings from fundraising in memory of Calum will take place in his home village of Carrbridgr this weekend.
They are fully booked with 208 people aged 14 to 35 and are being held from 9am to 4.30pm on Saturday and 9am to 2pm on Sunday in Carrbridge Village Hall.
The money raised from the weekend’s Chasing Baikie fundraiser will go towards more heart-screening sessions in the strath next year.
There is currently a waiting list of 70 people showing the demand for more clinics.
Calum and Eoin had been great friends since the age of three and later team-mates for the Red and Blues.
The marathon team relays were split into four stages - 8.3 miles, 8 miles, 5.5 miles and 4.4 miles for the last leg.
There have been a number of revisions to the two line-ups along the way because of injuries on and off the shinty field.
The costs per day for screening is rising to £7,000 from January.
An average of 12 young people die every week in the UK due to heart conditions and there are no prior symptoms in 80 per cent of these cardiac deaths.
Donations can still be made here.
