Man finishes 100km heart-shaped run in dad's memory

A man has completed a 100km (62 mile) run in the shape of a heart to honour his dad, who passed away from heart disease two years ago.

Laurence Denis, 32, completed the challenge in just under 13 hours on Sunday at Queen's Park in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

It is one of a number of challenges Denis has set himself to raise money for four different charities in the UK, with this particular run dedicated to the British Heart Foundation.

"This run was for my dad, and all of the hearts that are no longer with us," Denis said.

Denis said he walked the route in advance to ensure it was a heart shape on his running app, and every lap he ran was equivalent to half a mile.

He started at 06:30 GMT and finished just before 19:30.

"The first 20 miles in the morning were great as I had other people join in and run a few kilometres with me, and members of the public were cheering me on.

"However, when it got to about 6 or 7 o'clock at night, it became mind numbing. I knew every nook and cranny on the pavement.

"Constantly running around a mundane path almost 160 times isn't easy, but I knew I was doing it for an amazing cause and pushed through.

"I couldn't have done it without my brothers, Dom and Seb, who helped me along the way," Denis said.

Denis said running has been a huge part of his journey of coping with grief.

He got into the sport after his mum passed away from neuroendocrine cancer in 2020 and founded the weekly running club, "Lets Run Den," in Hinckley.

"When I lost my mum I went down a dark path - lots of drinking and negative thoughts," he said.

"Running saved my life. It gave me something to look forward to and an excuse to get out of the house every day.

"If I can inspire people to get out there and empower them to start running - that's definitely my biggest achievement."

Denis's next challenge is running from John O'Groats to Land's End in May.

"If you can put your mind to it - you can do anything. It's a bit mad, but I believe I can do it," he said.

He has raised £1,795 from a variety of fundraising events so far, and plans on splitting the total between four charities after he finishes his final challenge in May.

The charities are Neuroendocrine Cancer UK, Birmingham Children's Hospital, the British Heart Foundation and Mind.

Paula Scaife, East Midlands fundraising manager for the British Heart Foundation said: "We are so grateful to Loz for taking on such an incredible challenge and helping fund our lifesaving cardiovascular research.

"Far too many of us have felt the pain of losing someone we love to cardiovascular disease, the world's biggest killer.

"It is thanks to the dedication of people like Loz that the BHF can keep powering ground-breaking research to save and improve lives."

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