I am inviting you to be part of a meaningful journey that is close to my heart. This endeavour is more than just a journey, it’s a tribute to the woman who shaped my life - my beautiful mum. She left far too soon, having a cardiac arrest at the age of 50. In her memory, I’ve decided to run a marathon and more importantly, turn my loss into an opportunity for a positive change.

My mum was a kind, loving and wonderful women who played a vital role in shaping the lives of countless children at Ravensmead Primary School. For years, she dedicated herself to nurturing young minds, and creating a warm and loving environment to all of the children, who were lucky enough to have been taught by her. She was known for her infectious laugh, dedication and left a wonderful mark on the hearts of students, parents and everyone around her.

I’ve chosen to dedicate my run to CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), a charity committed to raising awareness, providing support, and conducting crucial research to prevent young sudden deaths, in the name of an incredible young man, Dan Hughes.

The Story of Daniel Thomas Hughes

27/01/1987 - 19/03/2015

The 18th of March 2015 was just another normal night in the Hughes house, we’d all been to work and had dinner and were getting ready for Friday the 20th, the Day our Daughter Kim was going into hospital to give birth to our 3rd Grandchild.

“Our Dan” was 28, he’d had dinner with Sue and myself & we’d spent an hour working on a project he was looking into. Sue had gone up bed at 9 and at around 9:30 Dan walked past the living room door and said, "I'm going up now Dad" to which I replied "O.K. son, see you later". Nothing strange about that little conversation you may think except that it was the last time anyone would speak to him.

Sue heard him get up to use the bathroom at around 1am; he went back to his room and went to sleep. According to his post mortem report his heart stopped at around 3:30am on the morning of the 19th and he passed away peacefully as he slept.

When he failed to get up for work in the morning Sue knocked on his door expecting him to have overslept but when he failed to respond she suspected something may not be right. She entered his room, Dan was lying on his side with his head resting on his hands just as if he were still asleep but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. He was unresponsive to Sue calling his name or shaking him by the shoulder. She called the emergency services who told her to perform CPR and that the first responders were on their way. Sue was a first aider at the place she worked so she had been trained to administer CPR, she fought with everything she had to bring her son back. When the paramedic arrived he went into Dan’s room but came out shortly after to say that there was nothing he could do – Dan was dead.

Dan's post mortem returned Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) as the cause of death. All his major organs were perfectly normal including his heart even though it had stopped. There were no warning signs, no chest pains, no headaches, no lack of breath or anything else to indicate that he was going to lose his life so suddenly. He was a very fit young man, he was a postman so he was walking 5 miles per day. At weekends he played football, (something he’d done since he was 10 years old) and was a regular at the local gym during the week. The outdoor life suited him and he was at his happiest when he was doing sport be it golf, football or snowboarding in the alps with his friends. He was a happy young man, something which gets repeated time and time again on the “remembering Dan” page of this website.

Every week in the UK at least 12 apparently fit and healthy young people die of undiagnosed cardiac conditions.

With your donation, CRY can reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD) by working with cardiologists and family doctors to establish good practice and appropriate screening facilities to promote and protect the cardiac health of our young.

By supporting CRY you will help save young lives from these potentially fatal cardiac conditions.

See how your support can help by visiting www.c-r-y.org.uk

Thank you for being part of this journey ❤️