Daily Echo, 17th October 2020
Chris and Adam were best friends since their teens and since Adam passed away in 2010 at the age of 26 due to an undiagnosed heart condition, Chris has completed several fundraising challenges for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) in his memory. As this year marks 10 years since Adam passed away, Chris wanted to mark it by doing something extra challenging. Before the outbreak of the pandemic, Chris planned to take part in 15 races over the course of 2020 in order to meet his 1,500 mile target. As these were all cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic, Chris has had to work up the miles on his own, averaging 29 miles a week and completing at least one marathon length run a month since January.
“CRY is such an important charity; there’s always a tendency to think ‘it won’t happen to me’, especially when you’re young, but the symptoms can be really hard to diagnose which is why it’s so vital for young people to be screened,” Chris said. “I sadly lost my best friend to an undiagnosed heart condition and this running challenge helps me feel close to him again. It is always an emotional moment for me finishing a run and reflecting on the reasons why I’m pushing myself to do this.”
