The death of her father at just 51 from a heart attack shattered the world of Chester student Victoria ‘Torz’ Anderson prompting her to run this year’s Virgin London Marathon for a national heart charity.
Torz, who attended The Queen’s School in Chester, will be raising money for Heart Research UK when she dons her running vest in April, and already has pledges of more than £3,850 to help the charity’s work in research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease.
Her world was shattered on December 20, 2013 when her father, Brendan, a barrister at Linenhall Chambers (formerly Nicholas Street), collapsed and died from a rare heart defect aged only 51.
Brendan was also a founder of the Cheshire based charity Drug Watch Trust which was created to educate young people about drugs and the risks and implications of using them, he was chairman of the charity up until his death.
Torz, 20, said: “My wonderful Dad, the greatest man I have ever known, had passed away suddenly at home. The world literally stopped around me, and the next few days and weeks are a mere blur to me now.
“He was a perfectly healthy man with a passionate zest for life and, after a perfect couple of hours together with his whole family, just a few days before Christmas, his time came and it was far too soon. The weakness lay undetected in his heart showing no symptoms and no warning signs.
“Since then, every single day has been a real struggle, but for every day that has gone by, I have also gained more strength and more focus to continue my life with, and to make a positive change.”
On Sunday, April 26, Torz will be running the Virgin London Marathon to raise funds for Heart Research UK. The funds will be used to research new treatments and techniques in dealing with heart disease, still the UK’s biggest killer with nearly 80,000 deaths a year.
Torz, who is in her final year at Loughborough University studying sport and exercise science, said she decided that, following her father’s untimely death, life was ‘unfair’ and she wanted to do something about it.
“I always wanted to run a marathon and this is why I wanted to do something positive out of a terrible situation.
“If the money I raise detects just one heart defect, gives one diagnosis or saves one life and one family from being exposed to the agony of bereavement, like myself and my family have had to endure, then I will find tremendous strength in that. My Dad really is my inspiration, and I just want to make him proud.”
Anyone wishing to sponsor Torz should go to her fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/Victoria-Torz-Anderson
You can also follow her progress on Twitter: @victoriatorzand and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/victoriatorzanderson?fref=ts
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