A Scottish man is set to run the Edinburgh Marathon this weekend in memory of his girlfriend who sadly died of cancer in 2019.
Martin Gorman, from Lanarkshire, will run all 26 miles as a special tribute to his beloved Caroline Cassidy, who was only 34 when she was taken by the cruel illness.
The marathon, which takes place on Sunday, May 29, around Edinburgh city centre, sees dozens of people taking part in memory or as a tribute to a special loved one they have tragically lost in the past.
READ MORE: We went to Edinburgh Waverley Station to see how ScotRail's new timetable was affecting passengers
Martin, from Rutherglen, will be raising funds for the Make 2nds Count charity, and to also make others aware of secondary breast cancer.
He told Lanarkshire Live: "I always thought she was going to beat it.
"Cara was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a full year of treatment. I remember she had what we thought was her last round of treatment between Christmas and New Year at the end of 2018.
"It felt like she had gone through it all and was going to be okay. But she kept getting sore heads for a few months afterwards and A&E couldn't get to the bottom of it.
"I noticed there was slight changes to her memory too, she's forget a few things here and there.
"We went for an MRI scan and they told us the cancer had spread to her brain. It was such a shock after thinking it was all over."
Caroline, who worked as a carer, underwent further treatment, but the cruel cancer had already spread too far and it became untreatable. She was placed on palliative care, and only three weeks after returning to her home, she passed away on June 2, 2019.
As it approaches three years to the day that Caroline was taken from Martin, he's eager to make her proud and raise awareness for others who may find themselves in a similar situation.
He added: "There can be a lot of false hope with cancer and a lot of people don't understand the differences between breast cancer and secondary breast cancer.
"There are over 35,000 people in the UK who have secondary breast cancer, but only a small amount of cancer funding goes towards it.
"So I've tried to do what I can - we've had Hallowe'en events as Cara always loved Hallowe'en. I wasn't in a good place after she died, but I needed to keep going for her.
"I look at it like somebody didn't get a chance to live their life, so I'm going to make the most of being lucky enough to do this."
Working as a joiner himself, Martin was given advice by Stevie Kidd, a business and life coach, who suggested Martin takes part in the Reach Your Peak event, who culminated in him climbing five Munros one after the other.
Since conquering those, Martin took an interest in running and fitness, which ultimately led to him taking part in the Edinburgh Marathon.
He admitted: "I'm petrified by the challenge and how I'll do! But I do like endurance things and I'll give it a good go."
Martin is fundraising for the Make 2nds Count charity, who aim to raise awareness and fund medical research that will contribute to advancing an increased quality of life for patients with secondary breast cancer.
He's already raised just under £1000 for the good cause and donations can be made here while further information about Make 2nds Count can be found here.
