| Mel Edwards, one of the north-east's best known runners and very well known on the hill running scene, sadly died last month aged 76. Mel was a founder member and the first chairman of Scottish Hill Runners when it was formed after the Carnethy 5 race in 1983, with Robin Morris as Secretary.
In his younger days he was a top class road and cross-country runner with a marathon best of 2hrs 18m. He took up hill running after reaching the Over 40 category when injuries curtailed his road running and was Scottish Hill Runners Over 40 Champion in 1984 and 1985.
Among his many hill running achievements was his round of the Cairngorm 4000s. He ran 4hrs 34m 8s on 9th July 1979, to beat Eric Beard's record by 7 mins. This amazing time lasted 22 years until Dan Whitehead knocked 3 mins off in 2001.
In 2014, Mel was awarded the MBE for services to athletics. He will be missed.
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