A team of three fundraisers from St Andrews University have put on their running shoes in memory of a beloved friend and colleague.
John Hudson, Roberta Cimino and Neil Montgomery, all from the Medieval History department, completed the Edinburgh marathon festival hairy haggis team relay.
As well as raising funds for MS Society, they were running in memory of Kimberley-Joy Knight.
Kimberley, who worked and studied in the department, had been a driving force behind previous fundraising.
Also having run for MS Society Scotland previously, their efforts raised thousands of pounds for the charity.
So after tragedy struck and they lost Kimberley last year at the age of just 37, the friends felt it was fitting to run once again as a tribute to her.
John, who lives near St Andrews, says: “Kimberley was a very, very good friend to people.
‘Outstanding as a friend’
“She was outstanding as a friend. And she was a great mum to her baby, Heidi.
“Kimberley was very attached to a lot of causes; she worked for the Samaritans, for example, as well as supporting MS Society Scotland.
“She was also very bright.”
When Kimberley moved to Australia with her family after being appointed a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Sydney in 2014, she kept in touch.
Time for Fife friends to run again
And her friends and former colleagues in Scotland were devastated when she died with cancer last July.
So, after a few years off, John, Roberta and Neil decided to enter a relay team again.
John adds: “Some of us have run marathons and half marathons over the past few years.
“But we haven’t run any marathons as a relay team from St Andrews since Kimberley moved away.
“I had intended to stop running permanently by now but I did this one, partly to help out and partly for Kimberley.
Memories of Kimberley
Coincidentally, the day of the marathon was the day after Kimberley and husband Ash’s wedding anniversary.
John continues: “They actually got married quite close to the marathon course.
“So the day before, in some ways, was the particularly emotionally distressing one.
“On the marathon day, we felt we were doing something Kimberley would have encouraged.”
And although John had to run two legs of the relay because the fourth team member was ill, he adds it felt right to be a trio.
“Once we started we felt it was appropriate there were only three of us doing it, that we were a person down, because we were doing it without Kimberley.”
Inspiring others to run
Roberta, who met Kimberley when they were PhD students at St Andrews adds: “Her enthusiasm was contagious.
“I ran my first half marathon with her, something I would have never dreamt of doing if it wasn’t for her encouragement.
“I have fond memories of our training runs on the West Sands in St Andrews, during which she would be chatting away to keep me going.
“We decided to run the relay this year in support of MS Society Scotland.
“It was a charity close to Kimberley’s heart, to celebrate her kindness, passion for running, and commitment to others.”
John adds: “There was a lot of interest, particularly among the post-graduate students. I think it might take off again.
“I certainly would encourage people to take part.
“We’ll be looking around for a new generation of people to do it.”
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