‘Over 100 miles in memory of my dad’
Andrew boosts charity with walk
A Perth man who walked more than 100 miles in memory of his father has raised a substantial amount of cash for an “invaluable” charity.
Andrew Miller, whose dad Robert sadly passed away last month aged 68 after a long battle with cancer, was determined to raise vital funds for Marie Curie.
The charity provides care and support for people living with any terminal illness and Andrew says its support made a real difference to the family.
Last Friday night he set off and walked the whole 116-mile Fife Coastal Path route from Kincardine to Newburgh.
Supported by friends and family, Andrew has raised £2521 for Marie Curie.
“When he passed away last month, I was thinking about how great Marie Curie was for our family,” Andrew said. “They did so much and really helped my mum in particular.
“It was important to raise money for a charity I believe in. We wanted to find a way people could donate because they really helped.
“Marie Curie makes a real, real difference to people dealing with a terminal illness. We set up a JustGiving page and so far we have raised over £2500 which is excellent.
“That puts a nurse in the home of a family dealing with terminal illness for two weeks.
We are very proud of that.”
The challenge was particularly poignant as Andrew had walked the Fife Coastal Path with his father back in 2017.
“It took us 10 days and we did it at different stages throughout the year,” Andrew reminisced.
“My dad wasn’t much of a walker and was struggling with his health at that point. He was six years into a prostate cancer diagnosis.
“He was born in Fife and it was something we wanted to do together. We made it happen and it really meant a lot.
“When he passed away, I started to think about the Fife Coastal Path and how many great memories there were from it.
“We made the challenge a little harder and worked out whether it would be possible to do it in one go.”
With a couple of short pitstops and food breaks, Andrew completed the emotional walk in 40 hours last weekend.
He said: “I started midnight on Friday and I had various walking partners - social distancing in mind - throughout the day to keep me entertained.
“Various people supported me and my wife was there the whole time with the campervan. We scheduled in food stops and two places where I could get some sleep.
“It was a long old day. It was emotional at the end because I was exhausted and had come the whole way thinking about my dad.” Andrew wanted to do his father and Marie Curie proud, concluding: “My dad was a very funny man and loved live music.
“To lose him in this time of lockdown was difficult and meant that his funeral was a lot smaller than it really should’ve been. Hopefully other families can get the support that Marie Curie gave us from the money raised.” You can still donate at www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/Andrew-Miller56