Laidlaw, son of the former Scotland and British & Irish Lions scrum-half, Roy Laidlaw, began 2021 with his first ever marathon, braving Arctic temperatures on New Year’s Day on a 26-mile course in the south-west of Edinburgh.

His plan, dubbed 12 in 12, is to complete a marathon each month this year to raise funds for three charities which mean a lot to him: the Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation; Marie Curie; and Alzheimer’s Scotland.

So, marathon number two in more spring like weather– running alongside his Boroughmuir team-mate, fellow club internationalist, Jordan Edmunds – saw Laidlaw knock 14 minutes of his previous personal best, completing the course in 4 hours, 20 minutes.

“It was a strange one,” Laidlaw said today. “The first half was really enjoyable. I felt really good through 25-30km. It was a different route and as we turned up from Portobello towards the Innocent railway at Duddingston it was a steady incline and I started to cramp up a bit.”

Salt tablets on board, the cramp eased as Laidlaw reached the Meadows and on to the finish at Edinburgh Castle esplanade.

Two other Boroughmuir players, Craig Keddie and Joni Hare, also finished the route yesterday, but to comply with restrictions around the pandemic, ran separately from Laidlaw and Edmunds.

“The support from marathon number one to marathon number two has been brilliant.” Laidlaw explained.

“You do think about all the messages of support, like those from Dunbar Grammar School, where I used to work, and I tried to go back to those messages when I was struggling a bit yesterday. That definitely keeps me going.”
Chris Laidlaw

Laidlaw, who is a coach with Edinburgh Rugby’s Academy, had set an original fund-raising target of £3,000 but has already smashed that. Latest total reached is over £7,000 with a revised target of £8,000.

He is undertaking his epic challenge to thank the three charities, following his mum, Joy’s death through cancer, dad Roy’s diagnosis with dementia and support for his family from the Murrayfield Injured Players’ Foundation.

His next marathon will take place on Sunday 28 March.

You can find out more about 12 in 12 and donate to support Laidlaw via his Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/12in12in21