Aberdeen FC star Calvin Ramsay is urging youngsters to follow in his footsteps by taking part in next month's Run Balmoral races.

The 19-year-old former Hazlehead Academy pupil is one of the hottest prospects in Scottish football at the moment, but it's only been a few years since the Dons defender was making his mark as a promising young middle-distance runner. 

Ramsay finished third in the secondary schools 2.5K at Balmoral in 2017 and was fifth the following year.

Ramsay was also a regular at the Aberdeen parkrun, where he got his first taste of running. The teenager completed more than 70 editions of the weekly dash along the beach promenade between 2015 and 2019, finishing first on a number of occasions. 

Ramsay also saw success at other distances – and on the track. In 2015 he was narrowly beaten into second position at Aberdeen's Union Street mile secondary schools race. Two years later, he finished 10th in the 2017 East of Scotland 1500m championship race at Grangemouth – but his podium position at Balmoral stands out as one of his best running memories. 

Ramsay said: "My dad Graham encouraged me to get involved in running along with my football. He wasn't a runner but he was a decent footballer, playing as a striker at Highland League level.

"It was him who suggested I should try the Balmoral race. I wasn't too keen to begin with but when he told me more about it, I decided to give it a go.

"So, I went along and loved it. The set-up was brilliant, the road we ran on was great, the event was really well organised and the staff there were fantastic. It's definitely one of the best events for youngsters in this area who want to get involved in the sport."

Ramsay believes his running background undoubtedly helped his football career, as it boosted his endurance.

As the defender explained, "When I was training with the Aberdeen under-14s and under-15s at the Sports Village there was always athletics going on. My dad thought it would be good for me to get involved so I could get a bit of extra training on top of my football. So, I would go straight from football training to doing running training with the athletics team. It certainly helped my fitness and I really enjoyed it.

"I even went to a track meeting in Glasgow with Aberdeen AAC. It was a big competition with good runners from all over the country. I didn't do too well, but it was a good experience."

Although his career as a professional footballer has taken off since his last Aberdeen parkrun appearance in January 2019, Ramsay says he might be tempted to give the 5K event a go again in the future.

He said: "I enjoyed doing them almost every Saturday morning. I was usually quite high up and even finished first a few times. I need to get out and do one again at some point when I have time."

Image: Calvin Ramsay (1236) (Run Balmoral)