Out of the Bluerun in memoryof a loving dad

Dave Brady said he ran the race, held at Ashburnham Place, Battle, on May 14, in memory of his Dad, Nick, who died last year aged just 53. He said: “I ran it for a charity called Winstons Wish who help families through times of grievance. Originally I was just going to run it alone but some of my family and several people at the gym I train at (FCA Bexhill) decided they would also like to do it; along with a handful of my friends there was a group of about 20 of us.”

Fundraising body ‘Out Of The Blue’ was founded in memory of Will Beckett who, aged 42, took his own life at Beachy Head in January 2013. The tragedy came as an incredible shock for his family and friends - it simply came ‘Out Of The Blue’.

Paying tribute to his beloved father Dave says he still finds it incredibly hard to talk about him. “He was a really hard working family man; he had a very quick wit and sense of humour and you would struggle to find anyone who had met him who didn’t have a laugh with him. He was a huge Man Utd fan and loved the club from a very early age despite growing up in London and his family being from North London and all being big Arsenal fans,” he said. “He always had a joke around and a big heart, he worked the last few years of his life as a grounds manager/caretaker/sitekeeper at local school called Greenfields which caters for children who cannot integrate into ordinary schools and relies on big charity donations. He had a great relationship with both staff and children and was testament to the kind of person he was.”

Dave says he hopes his dad would have been incredibly proud of the effort and money they’ve raised, adding: “I know for a fact, that, had he been here, he would’ve been the first to donate and sign up to run it with us.

“To date we have raised just over one thousand pounds. The event was a huge success with everyone coming together for one purpose and a bit of fun on a rainy Thursday night, it’s amazing how one small idea, both theirs and mine can raise so much money and awareness around an important topic.

“I hope these few words have done us justice, it wasn’t just about me, my Dad or my team, or indeed just the race itself, it was about raising awareness around depression, mental health and suicide, as well as some money to keep the charities - that do a lot of hard work around these topics - going.”

The donate visit Dave’s JustGiving page at: www.justgiving.com/team