Keith Ainslie, sales manager with James Jones & Sons Ltd, is running the Edinburgh Marathon on May 27 to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.
Mr Ainslie has been a serious runner for about five years and his decision to run for charity was prompted by the sad death this January of colleague, friend and well-known industry figure, Steve Jones. At the time of his death Mr Jones was president of the London Softwood Club and Mr Ainslie was vice-president.
“Steve and I had talked about running a marathon together, but when it became clear that Steve was not well enough to do so, the baton passed firmly to me and, at the Softwood Club’s Christmas lunch in 2011, I announced my intention to run,” he said.
The aim is to raise “as much as possible” for Cancer Research UK and Mr Ainslie has had promises of support from across the trade. Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/Keith-Ainslie.
TTJ readers can follow Mr Ainslie’s gruelling training programme, which involves three or four 10-22m runs a week, on his Just Giving page; on www.jamesjones.co.uk and in his occasional TTJ marathon diary, as he works towards his tough race target of 3 hours 20 mins.
