Bo'ness man's marathon charity effort in memory of wife

A Bo’ness man is halfway through his marathon charity challenge to mark what would have been his wife’s 40th birthday, who sadly died from cancer last year.
By Kevin Quinn
Published 11th Jun 2021, 06:00 BST
Updated 11th Jun 2021, 10:42 BST
Stuart Jamieson from Bo'ness is doing 40 marathons in 40 weeks.Stuart Jamieson from Bo'ness is doing 40 marathons in 40 weeks.
Stuart Jamieson from Bo'ness is doing 40 marathons in 40 weeks.

SJ Fitness Coaching owner Stuart Jamieson is completing 40 marathons in 40 weeks in memory of his wife Eva Jamieson who would have turned 40 in July.

He said: “I have done 18 in just about 20 weeks, as I missed a couple of weekends. I just go out and do it most Sundays.

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"When I first started we were quite deep in lockdown so I just did about three laps of Bo’ness, which gave me the 26.2 miles. Now restrictions are lifted a bit, I tend to go from Bo’ness to Polmont to Linlithgow to Blackness then back to Bo’ness.

Eva with the couple's children Oscar and Beth.Eva with the couple's children Oscar and Beth.
Eva with the couple's children Oscar and Beth.

"It was getting a bit boring going round the town three times, a bit too close to the house, with the temptation there to stop!”

Stuart explained why he is taking on this marathon charity challenge and revealed his planned fitting end to the challenge: "This would have been Eva’s 40th birthday this year, which is why I’m doing this. The money raised is for Marie Curie and so I can go to Kilimanjaro in 2023.

"Eva always wanted to go there and climb it, so I’ll be going there to do it for her.

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"One of her good friends works for Marie Curie so we did fundraising for them before she passed away. This is just carrying that on.

"My 40th marathon will finish at Loch Ness, which was our first marathon we did together. So that will be nice.

"I hope to raise as much as possible. It costs £4,500 to go to Kilimanjaro, which is what I’m at just now.

"If we could double that then that would be great. I’d love to go a bit further and raise £10,000 if possible.”

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Stuart added that he hasn’t always been alone on his challenge: "I’m doing an ultra marathon, 70 miles, which will count as two, to make up for the ones I missed. It’s actually just under a treble marathon.

"I have done a lot of marathons and ultra marathons in the past so I’m fine to do this challenge. It’s more mind over matter. It’s about pushing through and getting finished.

"I have got a few friends and clients who have come out and ran some of the marathons with me.”

To donate go to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StuartJamieson/2.

Related topics:Bo'nessMarie CurieLinlithgow