Wellingborough woman hopes to raise cash for new defibrillator by taking on half-marathon in memory of her late father

A Wellingborough woman will take part in a half marathon in Manchester to raise vital funds for a new defibrillator in the town.

Daisy Ward is taking on the challenge on May 26 with two family members, and hopes to raise the cash needed in memory of her father, Darren Ward, who died following a cardiac arrest last year.

Daisy said: “My dad was the funniest person anyone would ever meet. He was the sort of person where if you asked anybody about him the first thing they would say is that he was the nicest guy, he just wanted to help. He would give you the last t-shirt he owned if he thought you needed it.”

Darren was in the army for eight years, and always made the effort to give back to those he cared about, with Daisy calling him, ‘funny’, ‘caring’, and ‘the best dad I could have asked for.’

£2,185 is needed to purchase and register the defibrillator, with Daisy’s fundraiser having already raised £1,000 of its goal.

She added: “Sometimes you get a bit lost in the world of negativity, and sometimes you don’t remember how great the people closest to you are, you take it for granted.

“It’s so lovely that people are taking the time out of their day, one to respond to me but also to give me something to help.”

In the event of an emergency that requires the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), the person contacting emergency services will be advised if there is a community defibrillator, but it won’t be sent for if it is not within a 500m radius.

Daisy is hoping to plug a gap in Wellingborough, and has been in contact with town mayor Cllr Valerie Anslow as to where would be the optimal location as ‘there are a few areas where it is definitely needed.’

The fundraising efforts coincide with a more personal journey for Daisy, who took the steps to lose five-and-a-half stone after battling with weight and depression during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She insist that her participation in the 13-mile race will be a personal victory, saying ‘as much as it is a mental battle, it’s also a celebration of what my body is able to do, and what it could never do before.’

She said: "I just know that with the family members that are coming with me and family coming to support me that I’m going to do it.

“There are some days in training where the weather is rubbish or you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and everything hurts and you’d rather be at home with the dogs, but nine times out of 10 it’s really good, I feel great.

"It’s mentally hard but I get to the end and I feel so proud of myself mentally and physically. It’s a really big undertaking.

"The half-marathon is the reward, the training is the hard part, so I’m really excited for the day, it’s going to be fun.”

Two hours and 45 minutes is the target time to beat, and Daisy is confident that her training and hard work will pay off.

You can donate to Daisy’s fundraiser here.