Mark's 30 marathons in 30 days in memory of his best friend

The former Strathallan student, from Perth, is raising money for the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity

Determined Mark McGuire is set to embark on a remarkable test of endurance in memory of his best friend.

The former Strathallan student, from Perth, will be running 30 marathons in 30 days to raise money for the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity.

In 2015, Mark’s best friend Ben Forsyth was diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) - a progressive and incurable disease of the heart muscles.

He tragically passed away from a sudden cardiac event in 2018.

Mark (22) is now ready to push through the pain barrier and complete a marathon every day throughout the month of June in his honour.

“I have always wanted to do something for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young,” Mark said.

“In the last couple of months I started to think about a long run. I was thinking about the length of Scotland, something like that.

“But then I decided on the 30 marathons in 30 days. I thought this would be a good challenge to really raise some awareness for the charity and raise some money as well.”

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Mark grew up cycling at a high level on the national circuit with Ben and knows his pal will be at the forefront of his thinking when the legs start to ache.

“When I started getting into racing Ben was a lot better than me,” Mark smiled. “He was such an easy-going guy to get on with.

“He inspired you and made you want to come back to cycling. He put a smile on everyone’s face.

“I’m going to need Ben and emotion to get me through the tough times when I’m running.

“I’m also going to need to stay really positive and try to keep a smile on my face. It will be such a long challenge and I can’t be miserable for it.

“For sure, Ben won’t be off my mind. Everyone who has links to this charity, I will be doing it for them too.

“It is a crazy challenge and you are never going to feel completely fine about it.

“I’m going to mix up the routes to keep my mind sane. I may need to go down to the North or South Inch to get some grass running in.

“It’s going to be a proper mind battle for the most of it. It’s going to push me and I’m not taking this lightly.

“But I’m confident I can do this if I pace it well, eat the correct food and recover. It’s a lot bigger than simply running and my family will be supporting me.”

Mark has been taken aback by donations and has already raised more than £3350. He hopes the cash can help with cardiac screening efforts.

“The support has blown my mind already,” he explained this week. “A lot of it comes from people knowing the bond Ben and I had.

“Any donation helps so much and I’ve managed to raise a substantial amount.

“If I can even get to the £5000 mark, that would be 100 people who could get screened. That would mean the world to me.

“I would love to get through this challenge and then see what else I can do.”

To donate, visit: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MarkMcGuire9