REASON TO RUN

Jo and Elizabeth Humphries will run in the Melbourne Marathon in honour of Phil Humphries, who died of a heart attack in 2011

FOR some, life stops in times of grief but after her husband’s unexpected death six years ago, Torquay’s Elizabeth Humphries started running and hasn’t stopped.

This year she will compete in the Melbourne Marathon, again in honour of her late husband Phil, and will be joined by her youngest daughter Jo for a second time.

“Phil woke up suddenly one evening in May 2011 when Jo and Tim were home asleep and died in my arms, it was totally unexpected and traumatic and shattered our whole world,” Ms Humphries said.

“Our family has not been the same since. There were no signs. Phil was a teacher at Kardinia College and always fell in the healthy range during any health checks.

“He was slightly overweight but on medication for high blood pressure and had his cholesterol checked every year. He was only 58 years old when he died.”

Elizabeth and Phil’s extended family walked the 2011 Melbourne Marathon in his honour and have continued to raise money for the Heart Foundation since.

“For the past six years, be it myself or one of Phil’s family, we’ve always participated in the marathon as it falls around Phil’s birthday,” Ms Humphries said.

“I started running and raising money for the Heart Foundation because I hoped their research might help prevent another family going through what we have.

“The coroner’s report indicated that there was arterial build up and no one had done any testing on Phil for that. I believe vascular testing can be an expensive test to have but if it were more readily available perhaps Phil might still be here.”

Ms Humphries said she would have competed in at least two dozen fun runs and marathons since 2011 and often thought of her husband during the events.

“I always look for signs and I’ll ask him to help push me up the hills that’s for sure. Neither myself nor Jo are great athletes but it’s not about speed for us,” she said.

“I think of him often when I’m running and how he’d probably laugh if he knew we were running for him. Setting goals has been important to me to make me get up and out of the house. Nothing can fill the gaping hole that’s been left in our family but having little things to work towards gives you some purpose in getting up.

“We were together for 28 years when he died. I lost my whole world but am grateful for my three children Tim, Dom and Jo who give me purpose.”

To help the pair reach their $1,000 fundraising goal, search for Elizabeth Humphries at gofundraise.com.au.