Marathon effort for tragic Kirkcaldy girl Edie

Robert Purdie’s son Zak was rushed to the Sick Children’s Hospital in Edinburgh when he began suffering seizures and was in intensive care there at the same time as little Edie Murphy from Kirkcaldy.

But, while Zak fortunately pulled through, Edie (4), wasn’t so lucky. She was later found to be suffering from a rare form of epilepsy.

After hearing of the tragedy, Robert (42), a process operator at Ineos in Grangemouth, decided he wanted to run the Edinburgh Marathon for the Sick Kids Foundation.

Edie’s mum and dad, Cheryl and Tom launched a successful appeal to have Edie’s name emblazoned on the side of a Thomson’s holiday flight. Their Facebook campaign on behalf of the Foundation caught Robert’s eye – and he decided to help.

While Robert joins hundreds of runners in the full marathon on Sunday, his wife Emily will take on the 5k race.

His training has had a few setbacks, including a niggling knee injury. But Robert is now focused on hitting his £1000 fundraising target.

“It was frightening seeing Zak so poorly. I’ve no idea how people like Edie’s parents cope with what they’ve gone through. It makes you realise just what can happen.”

To support Robert’s fundraising, go to https://skffemf.everydayhero.com/uk/robert-s-marathon-challenge.