Father to run 5km a day in memory of his daughter

One minute Harry Foster was at the park with his daughter Olivia, 24 hours later she had died.

Two years later, as part of his "mission" to raise awareness for the charity 2 Wish, which supported him and his wife Rebecca, he will embark on a challenge of running 5km a day throughout May.

Mr Foster, of Street, Somerset, is asking for others to get involved too: "There's a chance for people to either join the team and commit fully to doing 5km a day in May, running, cycling or walking. Or to possibly think about joining one of the community events."

The charity 2 Wish says they have been able to support more families in Somerset thanks to the "ripple effect" that Mr Foster's awareness has had.

The charity says its mission is to "ensure that all those affected by the sudden and unexpected death of a child or young adult aged 25 or under receive the bereavement support they need and deserve".

Olivia died of acute myocarditis - a condition that causes inflammation of the heart and affects its ability to circulate blood and oxygen throughout the body.

Mr Foster said her sudden death was "unimaginable" and says they struggled at first to find any charity to help them.

In January 2024, they discovered 2 Wish, a Welsh charity that had just expanded into England. Mr Foster says "since then we've made it our mission to raise awareness to raise funds for this incredible charity".

Mr Foster has also credited his local football club for persuading him to return to the team. "The non-league football community, particularly the western league, have been incredible.

"Like I said this time last year, I hadn't played for six to nine months and I honestly didn't know if I would ever kick a football again.

"But, thankfully, I was encouraged to come back to my home town club [Street] and it was just the best thing I could have done. It's helped me this year have a positive distraction, some normality in my life, to keep my mental state in the right place."

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