A heartbroken Scot has put his best foot forward and vowed '365 days of courage' in memory of his tragic sister.
Kathy Parfitt was mum to nine-year-old Charlotte and was happily married to husband Rob when she lost her battle with breast cancer in April 2018.
Kathy, who was just 44 at the time, had dedicated herself to raising awareness and funds against the disease- bravely taking part in charity fashion shows even as her condition worsened.
Brother Matt Huntington, from Westhill, Aberdeenshire, wants her legacy to continue and has vowed to run a massive 2,700 miles this year.
This is more than the distance from the UK to Azerbaijan in central Asia.
He will make the strides with 10km everyday this year, a half marathon every month and he plans to run the Loch Ness marathon in October.
Raising cash for the Friends of Anchor charity, Matt had set himself a target of £3,650 which he has already smashed bringing in £7,194.
The 48-year-old said: "said: “Kathy passed away in April 2018, just weeks before she was due to take part in the charity’s Courage on the Catwalk event. I’m running in her honour, so some days have been quite emotional.
"This Wednesday would have been Kathy’s 46th birthday, so she will very much be forefront in my mind.”
“Running in the days after the marathon later this year will be tough, but every day means every day, no excuses, and no days off,”
“Some days have been hard going, whether that’s due to fatigue, muscle niggles or bad weather, but a little bit of pain on a quick run pales into insignificance by comparison with the battle Kathy fought.
"My memories of her spur me on each and every time I go out for a run.”
Matt has over 1,400km under his belt so far this year and has encountered snow, hail and icy conditions on his travels, but most recently he had to adapt to clocking up 10k from the four walls of a hotel room in London.
“Earlier this month I was in London working as a technical official for the Olympic swimming selection trials.
"The support team and athletes were working under strict restrictions to keep everyone safe, which meant we couldn’t leave the hotel in our free time. I had to get creative to log my 10k each day, but the hotel room was 8m long which gave me enough space to run back and forth and track the distance on Strava!”
On Matt's VirginGiving page He wrote: "Kathy was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and was later diagnosed with an aggressive form of triple negative cancer. She was incredibly brave in her battle to beat it and she was really looking forward to being a part of the Courage on the Catwalk show.
"All of her family and friends miss her dearly and we remember our times together with fondness.
"I've decided to raise money for Friends of ANCHOR to say thank you for the support that they provided to Kathy and her family."
Erica Banks, Communications Lead for Friends of ANCHOR, said: “Matt’s dedication to date has been nothing short of amazing, and we’re very grateful for the heartfelt commitment he has made, to keep going right through to December 31.
“Day in, day out, he gets the miles in, wearing his red T-shirt every step of the way. 10k a day is no small feat but so far, Matt has actually been averaging closer to over 12k which really is going the extra mile.
"His effort has paid off with an incredible number of generous donations, and every penny of every pound he raises will be directly invested to support patients.”
Matt added: “All of Kathy’s family and friends miss her dearly and we remember our times together with fondness.
"I decided to raise money for Friends of ANCHOR to say thank you for the support they provided to Kathy and her family.
"She would be so proud, grateful and have a huge smile on her face for everyone’s incredible generosity in her memory.”
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