A KIND-HEARTED teenager is preparing to take part in a run in memory of a former teacher.

Lily Margaroli, a pupil at Loretto School in Musselburgh, is getting set to tackle the Scottish Half Marathon in memory of Craig McGeary, who taught in the sports department at the school.

Mr McGeary died suddenly, aged 43, after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest while playing golf in early July.

He was a much-respected stalwart of the county’s rugby community, and a memorial afternoon was held in his honour at Musselburgh RFC earlier this month.

Now Lily is preparing to run the half marathon in memory of her former teacher.

The 17-year-old told the Courier: “When I heard of Mr McGeary’s death I knew that I wanted to do something in his memory because he was a true help and inspiration to me.

“I was searching around on the internet and found that there was a half marathon which started and finished very close to school, so I thought that this was perfect!

“I’ve never been a great runner so I thought this would be a good challenge too.”

Lily, who is going into upper sixth year at the Musselburgh school, added: “I’ve done various physical challenges, but I think thus far in my life it will be my hardest.

“I’ve been running four times a week – two short runs and two longer runs.

“A two-week period of my training programme happened to be when we were on holiday in the south of France; as you can probably imagine, running for eight miles in around 30 degrees [celsius] was quite challenging!”

Lily, from Worthing in West Sussex, explained why she felt inspired to pay tribute to Mr McGeary.

She added: “Although I only knew Mr McGeary for a year, he had a real impact on me and the way I approach sport and training.

“When in the gym he would always help me and push me to be the fittest I could be; sometimes this was difficult but I really enjoyed it.”

She is hoping to raise £500 from her fundraising efforts and has already almost reached her target, with her JustGiving page total currently at £400.

And Lily hopes the money raised can be used to set up a foundation in Mr McGeary’s memory, with the long-term aim of helping young athletes achieve their potential.