A TEAM of friends and former colleagues of the late Cowdenbeath soldier David Seath are set to run next month's London Marathon in his memory.

The event on April 23 will take place just one day before the first anniversary of Captain Seath's passing, which happened after he suffered a cardiac arrest while running the 26.3 mile event in aid of Help for Heroes.

Now a group of Captain Seath's friends, many of whom served with him or met him at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, will make the poignant trip to London to raise funds for the Captain David Seath Memorial Fund.

The fund was established in May last year and, so far, has provided more than 150 financial grants to wounded, injured and sick personnel in partnership with Help for Heroes, helping beneficiaries who live with physical and psychological trauma as a result of service to rebuild their lives.

Captain Seath's brother Gary, founder of the Captain David Seath Memorial Fund, said: "We are both honoured and humbled that this wonderful team of inspirational people have come together to take on the London Marathon in memory of David and raise funds for the Captain David Seath Memorial Fund. It’s very clear to me that a very special bond existed between David and so many of his colleagues within the Army, all of whom have shared so many wonderful memories of David and we can’t thank the team enough for their incredible gesture in support of David’s legacy."

Alex Davis, who trained to be an Army Officer with Captain Seath at Sandhurst, commented: "Dave was a great friend and colleague of mine. His companionship through the best and worst of times has helped shape the man I am today. I miss him dearly. After his death a Help for Heroes fund was set up in Dave’s name – The Captain David Seath Memorial Fund. The fund was started by Dave’s brother Gary. I hope to continue both Dave and Gary’s great work by raising funds for this worthwhile cause."

One of Captain Seath's close friends, Matt Burton, was with him on the Friday evening before last year's marathon, and said: "Like all of those who will be running in our team, I knew Dave not only as a motivated and professional Army officer, but also as a best friend. His loss has been hard on everyone who knew him. But thanks to his amazing family, something incredibly positive – The Captain Dave Seath Memorial Fund – will be his lasting legacy."

The marathon will take place on the same day as a memorial run in Captain Seath's memory in Dunfermline's Pittencrieff Park.

A 5k run will take place that is set to raise even more cash for the fund, which has already received more than £250,000 so far.

Meanwhile the fund have teamed up with British Heart Foundation Scotland to deliver a free CPR instruction as part of Captain Seath's legacy.

Every year in the UK, 30,000 people have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest but the survival rate is less than one in 10, while without CPR, the person will die within minutes.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is an emergency procedure in which a person presses up and down on the casualty’s chest (chest compressions) and gives them a series of rescue breaths to help save their life when they are in cardiac arrest.

Gary added: "Having experienced a sudden cardiac arrest running the London Marathon David received the highest quality medical attention, but tragically his life could not be saved. As we move forward in developing David’s legacy, we are delighted to work with the British Heart Foundation Scotland in providing our inspirational supporters the opportunity to learn how to react effectively should someone experience a cardiac arrest in the future.

"It’s imperative that someone who experiences cardiac arrest receives immediate CPR support and hopefully, through David’s legacy, we can provide others with the skills and confidence to react should the worse happen.

"The Captain David Seath Memorial Fund will work in partnership with British Heart Foundation Scotland to deliver a free CPR instruction evening as part of David’s legacy."

The event will take place at the Garvock House Hotel, Dunfermline, on Thursday June 22 and anyone who wishes to learn about the vital skills required to respond effectively in the case of a cardiac arrest is warmly welcome to attend.

To book your place, go online to http://bit.ly/2nUlDWY.