Young Minds fundraiser see father complete gruelling 60th birthday challenges in memory of his daughter
A father has completed a staggering 3,600 mile challenge in memory of his daughter.
And he has also scaled 60 summits, taken part in 60 separate hikes and completed 60 hours of volunteering, raising thousands of pounds for a mental health charity along the way.
Fraser Harding and his wife Anne, who live in Speen, lost their daughter to suicide in 2020 and Mr Harding decided to undertake the challenge as a way of marking his 60th birthday.
So he set himself some 60-themed challenges with the aim of raising £3,600 for the charity Young Minds.
The core challenge was to cover 3,600 miles hiking, running or cycling in 2023 and so it was a fitting finale as Mr Harding, the event director at Newbury parkrun, finished his 3,600th mile in Saturday’s parkrun at Greenham.
He said: “It was great to celebrate this milestone with the parkrun community that I feel so much part of.
“By raising money for Young Minds we hope to help other young people who struggle with their mental health and to save other families and friends from the heartbreak of losing a much loved young person.
“I’ve covered many of my 3,600 miles cycling with Newbury Road Club.
“The social and supportive atmosphere of the club made it easy to cover the miles come rain or shine and club members have been very generous in their support.”
Another part of the challenge was to scale 60 summits during the year and, after climbing mountains in the Atlas and Rif ranges in Morocco, the Sierra Nevada in Spain, and the Alps in Austria, he reached his 60th summit in the Brecon Beacons on a cold, windy November day.
Mr Harding also committed to doing 60 hours of volunteering during 2023 and has carried out a number of activities, most recently delivering Christmas food parcels on behalf of the NWN Over 80s’ Parcel Fund.
The final challenge was completed on Sunday, when Mr Harding took on his 60th hike, joined by his close family.
His hikes have included multi-day treks in Morocco and in the Alps, as well as day hikes in the Lake District and Cornwall.
He also walked from his home in Newbury to each of the highest points in Berkshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire and in the summer he completed his longest day-hike – a walk of 60km from west of Avebury back to Newbury.
You can still support Mr Fraser’s fundraising efforts by visiting his JustGiving page here – www.justgiving.com/fundraising/frasers-60th
Reflecting on his staggering achievements this year, he added: “It’s been a wonderful, though sometimes relentless year.
“In completing the various challenges, I think I’ve done something meaningful in memory of my daughter while raising money to help others.”
If you need to talk to someone, Samaritans offer a 24-hour phone line available via 116 123. Or you can email jo@samaritans.org
