Light in the darkness thanks to Chris

Scottish Rugby Academy coach Chris Laidlaw has now completed two thirds of his 12 in 12 marathon challenge.

Laidlaw, the former Boroughmuir and Scotland Club International stand-off, has been running a marathon each month this year to raise funds for three charities which mean a lot to him – the Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation; Marie Curie; and Alzheimer’s Scotland.

His eighth marathon was a scheduled event organised by Blast Running in Edinburgh.

He explained: “They were calling it the Sunset Marathon. However, I can assure you there was no sunset!

“We set off from Gypsy Brae down on the Cramond foreshore and ran six loops of 7km each which was extremely tough mentally, especially as the darkness came in along with some pretty miserable rain!

“The Marathon started at 7pm and we finished at around 11.30pm which was a huge challenge in itself as all my other marathons I have started pretty early in the day, so from a fuelling and preparation point of view it was very different.

“I had one of my good mates Ryan Miller from Jed’ with me for this one, and I was so grateful to have someone alongside as it tested me to the absolute limits physically and mentally.”

??‍♂️Marathon 8 ✅ ??‍♂️
Something very different for this one! 6 loops of the 7KM course and it was pretty wet and very dark!! However @RyanKeckler9 got me over the line and we are now into the final 4! Read more on #12in12 and donations here https://t.co/OSfIqcXvbR pic.twitter.com/dT8xOMgLvd

— Chris Laidlaw (@laidlaw9) August 22, 2021

Chris has now raised an astonishing £16,653 for the three charities and is already planning his ninth run later this month.

He said: “It will take place on Saturday 25September, and I am heading to East Lothian. I have strong connections there having spent close to three years working for Dunbar Rugby Club as their Development Officer.

“I also have family based there so I’m really looking forward to it. We are starting from Fisherrow Harbour in Musselburgh at 9am and finishing at Hallhill, Dunbar’s ground.”

You can offer Chris your support via his Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/12in12in21