Tom's Leeds 10K challenge for the British Heart Foundation
17 June 2024
Tom Brown will be one of our many inspirational runners taking on the Leeds 10K this weekend for a cause close to his heart, the British Heart Foundation. In February of 2023, Tom very suddenly lost his Dad to a heart attack. After receiving the devastating call while he was on holiday in Egypt with his family, Tom knew from that moment on, his life had changed forever.
Taking inspiration from his Dad, Tom has decided to change his lifestyle by taking up running and has since joined his local running club, the Drighlington Dynamos. The Leeds 10K will be his first running event, of which he’s very much looking forward to. We spoke to Tom ahead of event day, check out more of his story below.
“My names Tom and I am completing this year's Leeds 10k for the first time, raising money for the British Heart Foundation, a charity really close to my heart.
“6th February 2023 will sadly be a day that is forever imprinted in my life for all the wrong reasons and not the right reasons it should have been. I sadly lost my Dad suddenly to a heart attack after he had just finished a long day's shift at work and was getting ready at home to go to the gym for his night-time routine workout. I was currently half way through enjoying a 2 week first holiday abroad in Egypt with my fiancé, Amy, and daughter Ava when I got the phone call. I'll forever remember my uncle saying that my dad had taken his last breath and I wouldn't ever speak to him again. It was only earlier that day he was texting me asking how the holiday was going so it didn't seem real at all but sadly it was.
“Flying home to England and once the funeral and everything had settled and struggling to adjust to life with demons in my mind of what ifs and I should haves floating around I decided to make a change and do what he would have wanted, live life to the full and not to have any regrets. I have decided to take inspiration from my dad who at the time of his passing was getting fitter and changing his life for the better after a previous heart scare in August 2022. He had quit smoking and drinking and started hiking through the Yorkshire countryside 5-10miles at a time.
