Running champion died on Cape Wrath trail two weeks before wedding

Jade Lau and David Parrish hiked the Cape Wrath trail together in 2021 [Jade Lau] An ultra-marathon champion who died while running in the Highlands was in the final stages of planning his wedding, his fiancée has said. David Parrish, from Dumfries, was trying to beat the record for the fastest man to complete the Cape Wrath trail, a 234 mile (376km) route from Fort William to Cape Wrath. The 35-year-old former Royal Marine was found in the remote mountainous area of Kintail in the north-west Highlands on Saturday night.

His cause of death is currently unknown. His partner of seven years, Jade Lau, told BBC Scotland News that they were due to marry in two weeks' time. "We were putting together playlists, writing speeches," she said.

"So on receiving the news, I felt that what I knew about the next couple of days, coming months, coming years, is quite scattered now. "I'm trying to focus on the fact the world keeps moving, and I'll try to as well. " Jade, a design manager, said David was "full of life, funny and loving" and that he was "buzzing" in the weeks leading up to the run.

The couple had hiked the route in 2021 and David, an experienced ultra-marathon runner, won the Cape Wrath Trail race in 2023. The trail, which covers Lochaber, Knoydart, Applecross and Torridon, is considered one of the most challenging routes in the UK. [BBC] For his latest challenge, Parrish was running to fundraise for Scottish Mountain Rescue in memory of his close friend, Luke Ireland.