Rebecca's story

On 20th September 2025, I completed the challenge of running two miles every hour for 24 hours in honour of my beloved uncle who died suddenly from a heart attack, leaving a huge void in our family.

We lost my Uncle Geoff three years ago to a heart attack at age 55. He left one morning to walk his two dogs up one of the local hills and didn’t come down. Everything changed that day for our family. The part that we will always remember is that his two dogs never left his side throughout that day and protected him till the end.

That feeling of sudden shock and grief from losing someone to a heart attack is something I’d like no other family to have to go through, which is why I’m raising money for Heart Research UK.

At the time of his death, I was a physiotherapy student in my final year of placements working on hospital wards. Now, as a qualified physiotherapist working in healthcare full-time, it’s even more clear to me the importance of funding health research, particularly into conditions such as heart diseases, as I see the positive impact it can have on people and families who otherwise would experience grief and loss like ours.

Walking his dogs around East Lothian was one of my uncle’s greatest joys, and one comfort we’ve always held onto is that he passed away doing what he loved most. This has also inspired the challenge I took on in his memory, as I followed some of the paths he did by running across Balgone Estate, a local and much-loved dog walking spot.

We miss him dearly but he would have wanted something positive to come from his death, which inspires me to continue raising money for this amazing charity. I hope that by taking on this challenge locally, in a place frequented by so many walkers, I can raise awareness of the incredible work Heart Research UK does to pioneer research into heart diseases. I also aim to raise funds to support the treatments and advancements that could help prevent others from experiencing what we have.