Marathon was fitting tribute to amazing uncle

It was a particularly poignant arrival at the start line of the Edinburgh Marathon last weekend for Dunblane’s Fraser Barrell as he prepared to pay a special tribute to his uncle.

- STUART MCFARLANE

The 22-year-old took on the 26.2 mile run around the capital on Sunday in support of Brain Tumour Research after losing his uncle, Ewan Russell, to the disease in 2023.

Ewan had been given the crushing diagnosis just eight months prior after suffering from severe headaches.

Following his headaches, the CAD technician and tutor at the University of Glasgow was diagnosed with a brain tumour at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in March 2023.

He underwent a biopsy at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, diagnosing his brain tumour as glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable form of the disease with a prognosis of as little as 12-18 months.

Although he received radiotherapy at the Western General which temporarily held back the tumour, Ewan died on November 2 2023, surrounded by his family.