Ultra marathon plan to remember ‘selfless’ grandad
GRANDSON-IN-LAW TO TAKE ON 72-MILE FUNDRAISER
A FAMILY are planning an ultra marathon to remember a ‘selfless’ North Kelsey man who suddenly died at his friend’s funeral. Roland East, 71, was attending a funeral when he suddenly collapsed and subsequently died in the church in March this year.
It wasn’t until after his death that his family y were told he had an undiagnosed heart condition.
A farmer all his life, his loss has left a massive hole in the heart of his family and the community. Being the head of the unit, he was always welcoming children and grandchildren for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
Now, grandson-in-law Daniel Salter will be running 72 miles to help raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
David said: “I’ll be running a 72-mile lap p from Roland’s farm and back with a few people joining me along the way.
“We decided to go for 72 as that’s how old he would have been this month. Along the way, my friends will be keeping me going at various intervals and my wife Alice will be following me in the car. “Roland’s wife of over 50 years Angela will also be cycling the last mile with me and we’re hoping to have as many people as possible join in when we get into the village itself.” Although a keen runner, Daniel admits that this will be the biggest challenge he’s ever taken on. “I’ve never been involved in something this big, but I’ve got the mentality of just getting on with it so hopefully h I’ll be all right.”
The aim is to finish the gruelling l run in around 16 hours, h setting off from Roland’s R farm at midnight on Saturday, October 21, aiming to be back at the farm for around 6pm the same day. For Daniel, the chance c to bring Roland’s family together to celebrate his life will be a great part of it. “His loss left a massive hole in our hearts h and getting everyone together will be brilliant. Hopefully at the same time we can do some good and stop other people from having to go through what he went through.”
Running for such a personal reason, Daniel believes he could be quite emotional by the end.
“I don’t think it will really hit me until I finish. I’ve been training since the end of March for this so I’m just excited that it’s finally time to do it now. I’d also like to do more fundraising in the future if this goes well.” However, nothing will make up for the hurt felt by the family when they lost Roland back in March. “He was just going to a friend’s funeral when he suddenly collapsed from an undiagnosed heart condition and died at the church,” said Daniel.
“Nobody was ready for it or even saw it coming. He was still working on the farm, albeit not as much as he used to, but he certainly wasn’t unwell. The whole thing just came out of the blue.” Remembering her grandad, granddaughter Alice Howard said: “He was very much into rock and roll and followed bands all around the country with my Nanny, Angela. “He was a very well known and liked person around the village. He would give anybody his time and would help anyone if they needed it. “Sometimes you’d go out with him and he’d keep stopping to talk to people for 20 minutes at a time.” She added: “Not having him here has been really hard. We live in Suffolk now, but when we did live up there we would be round every day for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. “It’s been hard getting used to not having him here and it’s been really difficult for the family, but hopefully the event will be a nice way to remember him.”
To donate to the fundraiser, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/daniel-salter4?
He would give anybody his time and would help anyone if they needed it.
Alice Howard