A team of us are coming together to participate in the 15k Tough Mudder challenge! We are raising money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of my grandad, Stephen Helden. 

Maddie

My grandad is an incredible man who suffered from several diseases, sadly ischaemic heart disease being one of them. Not knowing anything about this disease or grandad having it, has been extremely hard to accept. 

In November 2022, I lost my grandad to ischaemic heart disease. He was taken too early on in my life which I struggle with every single day. Having the opportunity to fundraise for BHF in the Tough Mudder challenge with my bestfriends who cared so much about my grandad is so incredible. My grandad adored my bestfriends and would have loved all us doing an event together!

Grandad you will always and forever be my bestfriend, a truly wonderful grandad who I am so lucky to have known. You will always be so special to me and forever in my heart. Thank you for everything. I love you.

Megan

It’s difficult to put into words how amazing Stephen was. Having not even met him yet he was still insistent on me coming with him, Maddie and Karen for dinner. From then on he basically took me under his wing. He was such a kind man checking up on me like my own Grandad does and inviting me with Maddie to stay for weekends. It was such a pleasure to be with Stephen on his last holiday where the week was spent doing nothing but laughing and taking shots which is something I’ll never forget. It was heartbreaking to hear about Stephen’s passing and so being able to raise money in Stephen’s honour is something I feel so passionately about.

So thank you Stephen for acting as my 2nd Grandad and this is all for you x 

Dina 

Having also lost my Grandad to Heart Disease, it felt only right I take part in this challenge to raise money for a such a good cause and charity. British Heart Foundation are an amazing charity that raise money to research cures and treatments, in order to give people more time with the ones they love. I’d do anything for one last hug from my Grandad! 

Maddies Grandad Stephen was an amazing man, who was so caring and thoughtful and treated us all like one of his own! I am more than honoured run this 15k on behalf of my Grandad, and Maddies Grandad!

Caitlin

British Heart Foundation is such a great cause and the work they do is so important for so many people. Stephen was such a wonderful man, and welcomed me into his home on multiple occasions. The bond he and Maddie had was so strong and the love Mads had for her grandad and vice versa was unmatched. It’s so important to me to do something to fundraise for such an amazing cause and support my best friend in something so close to her and so many peoples hearts. 

Anya  

British Heart Foundation are an amazing charity that supports many people, of all ages, living with heart and circulatory conditions. This charity means a great deal to me as my Grandad suffered his first heart attack in his early 40's and I then sadly lost him at the early age of 65 due to another heart attack. With the help that the British Heart Foundation, this can enable further life-changing research, with the expectation of finding new cures. The money we raise can hopefully go towards purchasing more defibrillators which can be placed in community areas for use as and when required. Running this tough mudder for Maddie's Grandad and my Grandad means everything to me as they were the most incredible people and I am so lucky to have met them. Thank you so much for reading and supporting this amazing charity ~ Anya x

British Heart Foundation 

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK but sadly every day hundreds of people lose their lives. The BHF are creating new treatments and discovering new cures, with £24 this could pay for two hours of research by an early career scientist! Every single penny counts and we would really appreciate any support!

I hope this charity continues getting the funding it needs to support others who are suffering or who have been in a similar situation.

Thank you to everyone supporting us!