A DEESIDE-based charity is set to benefit from cash raised by two fit physicians who are running five half marathons each.
Dr Angus Cooper and his wife Dr Carol Gilmour, of Westhill, have already completed two of the five runs and aim to collect around £3,000 along the way.
Dr Cooper, an A&E consultant at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and his 41-year-old wife, a doctor a
t the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, are running the series of remote and rural races to raise vital cash for the Sandpiper Trust.
The trust was established by the family and friends of 14-year-old Sandy Dickson, who drowned whilst holidaying in Canada in 2000. Setting up the trust was the idea of Sandy's Crathes-based aunt, Claire Maitland, who provides the link between the Sandpiper Trust and the medical profession.
Dr Cooper, 45, said: "So far our list of races includes Inverness half marathon, Balmoral 10k, Dunecht Dash (with the children), Baker Hughes 10k, Isle of Skye half marathon, Isle of Harris half marathon, Barra half marathon and Kirkwall half marathon. We chose these races to reflect the spirit of Sandpiper. So far, we have done two of the five - Inverness and Skye - and have three to go.
"I've known Claire Maitland at the Sandpiper Trust for eight or nine years now and have been to a couple of Sandpiper events before. I was very aware of the Sandpiper charity and when we were looking at doing some half marathons, we thought 'why don't we do them for charity?' and the Sandpiper Trust seemed to fit in perfectly.
"In my job, I am very aware of the importance of the work done by GPs when someone is any distance from a hospital and we do see patients that have been treated by GPs with a Sandpiper bag prior to coming in - not just trauma patients, but people who have become unwell very quickly or had a heart attack.
"Sandpiper have also provided vehicle locators, which are incredibly important in enabling the Scottish Ambulance Service to seek help and know where people are prior to the arrival of ambulances."
The couple will run the last of their planned half marathons in Kirkwall in August but will continue fundraising until the autumn. Dr Cooper said they may also add another couple of half marathons on to the total.
"I used to run but hadn't done anything for a while," he said. "Carol was doing some running and then this just spurred me on. We now do one long run a week."
Claire Maitland said: "Although Sandpiper provides emergency medical equipment to GPs and nurses working in rural Scotland, victims of accidents and sudden illnesses are transported to A&E departments, so Sandpiper is delighted that Angus and his family are raising much-needed funds for the charity.
"The Sandpiper Trust works closely with the emergency services to help to improve pre-hospital emergency care throughout rural Scotland."
For more information about the fundraiser or to donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/angusandcarol
