Man running Ironman  in memory of friend who was killed with one punch is forced to spend £1,500 to replace his kit last minute after it was lost on Ryanair flight

A Scottish man has participated in an Ironman event in memory of his friend who was killed with one punch – but had to replace his kit at the last minute after it was lost on a Ryanair flight.

Kevin Caie trained for eight months for the race in Hamburg last weekend, but he nearly had to miss the race after he landed in Germany on Thursday with his kit – including bicycle and running shoes – nowhere to be found.

The 25-year-old from Edinburgh had to spend £1,500 on a replacement bicycle and new shoes needed to take part in the intense sporting event, which sees athletes complete a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle and a 26.2 mile run.

‘They told me I would get my kit back before I’d done the Ironman. Luckily I took the initiative and did what I could to [replace it]. I had obviously this whole thing for charity but they left me completely in the dark,’ Kevin told MailOnline.

Before even arriving in Germany, Kevin had already raised more than £6,000 for the NHS Blood & Transplant Charity, an important cause to him because his best friend Matthew Guthrie, 25, donated his organs after being killed by a single punch on a night out in June 2023.

Before even arriving in Germany, Kevin had already raised more than £6,000 for the NHS Blood & Transplant Charity, an important cause to him because his best friend Matthew Guthrie, 25, donated his organs after being killed by a single punch on a night out in June 2023 (Kevin, right, and Matthew pictured together)

‘He saved four people’s lives by being an organ donor. After that, I was lost with what happened to him, so I decided to challenge myself and do something positive,’ Kevin, who works as a senior business development manager, said.

The two men had been friends for years. Kevin said: ‘I met Matthew on my first day at uni in Blackpool, he was from there. He was in my flat. I had never met him before in my life.

‘We grew really close at uni and spent years and years together as friends. Then that tragic incident happened, which left us all completely lost.

‘It left me lost especially and made me realise that I wanted to do something for him. And I wanted to try and make his mum happy.’

‘I was looking for something positive out of the first real tragedy in my life,’ Kevin added.

Despite not having any experience with triathlons, Kevin threw himself into training. ‘A complete shot in the dark,’ he said, adding that him and Matthew never had a shared passion for any of the disciplines in the triathlon.

‘I didn’t have any experience in the three fields. Me and Matthew went skiing together and to Ibiza together in the past instead.

‘The reason I chose the Ironman was that I had never done it and wanting to raise money it had to be something that would really really challenge me.’

But before he could fulfill his goal and do the Ironman in Matthew’s honour, things went awry due to no fault of his own.

‘As I landed in Berlin, they told me that they did not know where my bike box was. Obviously I’d had Matthew’s family and 11 of my friends fly over, and we were left with nothing in Germany. I asked Swiss Port and Ryanair, but they had zero answers.’

The two men had been friends for years (pictured here with friends when they were younger). Kevin said: ‘I met Matthew on my first day at uni in Blackpool, he was from there. He was in my flat. I had never met him before in my life. We grew really close at uni and spent years and years together as friends’

‘We grew really close at uni and spent years and years together as friends. Then that tragic incident happened, which left us all completely lost,’ Kevin said (Kevin and Matthew pictured above with friends)

Instead of being able to prepare for the event, Kevin was forced to run around Hamburg to get everything he needed in time for the start of the Ironman on Sunday morning.

‘I got it done, which was unbelievable. But even today, there has not even been a glimpse of a word from Ryanair. It’s absolutely shocking,’ he told MailOnline.

He said overall he was probably out £3,000 to £3,500 after his own bike and other kit he had trained with for months was lost and he had to replace it.

Kevin said: ‘When I landed in Germany, I was left with nothing. I was at least £1,500 down for the opportunity to come here and do the thing I wanted to do to raise money.’

‘It was unfathomably stressful and Ryanair have given me zero answers at all,’ he added, calling the airline ‘incompetent’ and ‘useless’ over his missing baggage.

‘When I landed, I thought that there’s absolutely no way that I can do this. This was a massive challenge as it was, but I didn’t have my bike, I don’t have anything.

‘So when I was in Berlin Airport and I was getting all the b****** answers, I thought ‘I really don’t think I can do this’.’

On the day of the race, Kevin went to the starting line with an unfamiliar bike and brand-new running shoes, but he went through with it for Matthew and his chosen charity.

He said: ‘There was nothing like it. Honestly if that was not for the NHS Blood & Transplant Charity there was no way I would have done it.

‘Matthew’s mum flew over to Germany to watch along with eleven of my friends, all wearing the NHS Blood & Transplant Charity t-shirts that I got made.’

Kevin added: ‘It was a challenge but Matthew was with me every single step of the way.’

After crossing the finish line, the athlete was met by Matthew’s mother, who he said had ‘floods of tears’ streaming down her face.

‘It was beyond touching. I mean obviously I had been racing for 12 hours then but I thought every penny, every lost bag, everything was worth it. 

Kevin said: ‘Matthew’s mum flew over to Germany to watch along with eleven of my friends, all wearing the NHS Blood & Transplant Charity t-shirts that I got made’

After crossing the finish line, the athlete was met by Matthew’s mother (right), who he said had ‘floods of tears’ streaming down her face

‘I reminded myself that the pain of the race doesn’t even compare to the pain of losing your son and that was enough to get me through.’

Kevin added: ‘The pressure on me was immense. That two-day period where I didn’t even have a bike to ride in an event I trained eight months for, I couldn’t even sleep at night because the pressure was just getting to me so much, but I just had to find a way to try and do things.

‘My bank account was completely wrecked by this experience and my parents had to send me money along with friends to get me through this. It was terrible.’

Even though he had to spend his savings to replace his Ironman kit, he said it’s not important to him to be made whole.

‘I do not care about the money I spent because it’s a venture I chose to do, but I want to be compensated for the stress it all caused,’ Kevin said.

‘People make mistakes and things get lost, that’s fine, but to put someone under distress is not fair. I would love for Ryanair to donate money to the fundraiser.’

Kevin has already surpassed his £2,000 target, with total donations amounting to £6,650. You can donate to the fundraiser for the NHS Blood & Transplant Charity here.

MailOnline has contacted Ryanair for comment.