Parrish, 35, was found in the remote mountainous area of Kintail on Saturday at about 10:25pm. Photograph: David ParishView image in fullscreenParrish, 35, was found in the remote mountainous area of Kintail on Saturday at about 10:25pm. Photograph: David ParishScottish ultrarunning champion dies during Highlands record attemptDavid Parrish, who won Cape Wrath Ultra in 2023, had been attempting gruelling route again as fundraising challenge
A 35-year-old ultramarathon champion from Dumfries has died while attempting to beat the record for a race to the most north-westerly point on mainland Britain.
David Parrish, a former Royal Marine, was trying to become the fastest man to complete the Cape Wrath trail, one of Britain’s most gruelling race routes.
The 234-mile (376km) route from Fort William to Cape Wrath winds through spectacular but physically challenging terrain, covering the windswept peninsula of Knoydart and Applecross and the dramatic peaks of Torridon.
Parrish was found in the remote mountainous area of Kintail in the north-west Highlands on Saturday at about 10:25pm. In a statement, Police Scotland said: “There are no suspicious circumstances and his next of kin are aware.”
Despite having competed seriously for only a few years, Parrish had already won the Cape Wrath Ultra in 2023, his first ultra race, in a total time of 45:28:48, the second-fastest time in the event’s history.
This time, he was running the route to raise money for Scottish Mountain Rescue in memory of his close friend, Luke Ireland, who died from hypothermia in November 2014 when the weather changed suddenly as he was running in the mountains around Glen Clova.
Parrish wrote on his fundraising page: “Alongside fellow Marines, volunteers from the Scottish Mountain Rescue deployed in large numbers to search tirelessly for Luke and, tragically, bring him off the hill.”
Tributes to Parrish flooded in to the page after the news of his death, with friends and fellow competitors describing him as an inspiration and passing on condolences to his family.
Parrish started running when he joined the Royal Marines and colleagues say he spoke about using long-distance running to decompress from the relentless demands of the job.
After leaving the Royal Marines he developed his running competitively, first in local races, where he became club champion with Dumfries running club in 2022. Last September, he won first male finisher in the Dragon’s Back race, a six-day, 380km ultramarathon crossing the mountainous spine of Wales from Conwy Castle to Cardiff Castle.
