A 35-year-old ultramarathon champion from Dumfries has died while attempting to beat the record for the Cape Wrath trail, one of Britain's most gruelling race routes. David Parrish, a former Royal Marine, was found in the remote mountainous area of Kintail in the north-west Highlands on Saturday at about 10.25pm. Police Scotland said there were no suspicious circumstances and his next of kin were aware.
Parrish had won the Cape Wrath Ultra in 2023, his first ultra race, in the second-fastest time in the event's history. He was attempting the 234-mile (376km) route from Fort William to Cape Wrath again as a fundraising challenge for Scottish Mountain Rescue, in memory of his close friend Luke Ireland, who died from hypothermia in 2014.
The alarm was raised when the open tracking device he ran with indicated he had stopped making progress. Kintail Mountain Rescue Team paid tribute to 'an experienced hillgoer and mountain runner who tragically died doing something he loved'. Current record holder Pawel Cymbalista said the news had 'shaken him to the core', adding: 'Running this route in a solo, unsupported style brings so many risks.'
Hundreds of donations have flooded into Parrish's fundraising page, taking the total to more than £15,000. A spokesperson for Scottish Mountain Rescue said: 'David was a generous, warm-hearted and inspiring member of our community... His fundraising efforts will support our volunteer teams as they continue to respond to emergencies across Scotland’s mountains.'
