Ross takes on lakes run in wife’s memory

by Lucy Stephens

ONE year on after the passing of a dearly loved Melbourne teaching assistant, her husband is taking on a poignant charity challenge of truly epic proportions in her memory.

Ross Danby, the Melbourne-based garden designer and sculptor, is next month heading to the Lake District where he will take on a 113-mile run around all its 26 principal lakes, waters and meres

He is doing his epic ultra run in memory of his late wife, Jacqui Danby, a highly regarded teaching assistant at Melbourne Infant School who passed away on April 2, 2022

Ross’s run will start and finish at Grasmere where Jacqui has her final resting place

He will be raising money for MacMillan Cancer and Treetops Hospice; both charities helped the Danby family through Jacqui’s illness and its aftermath

During his epic run he will also be dipping his finger into each lake in memory of Jacqui

Ross said: “We had involvement from both MacMillan Cancer and Treetops, and I’m indebted to the help and support Jacqui and myself received from them

“Treetops was instrumental in providing both of us amazing help and counselling for Jacqui before she passed away, and to me in the aftermath, and in coming to terms with her loss

“However strong you think you are and think you will be able to cope, nothing prepares you for when that happens

“To have support from caring people who aren’t necessarily attached to your daily circle of friends and family, makes such a difference to your ability to deal with taking the baby steps to getting through the tough times ”

Ross will be setting off on his run on May 26 with the aim of completing it over the bank holiday weekend

No stranger to ultra distance epics, Ross has previously run a 73-mile route taking in 46 of the Lake District’s tallest peaks including Scafell and Helvellyn, in memory of his father, Peter

“The amount of up and down was equivalent to ascending and descending Everest,” said Ross

“I’m not really cut out as a fell runner and certainly no whippet or iron man A lot of the task in hand, appreciating I’m now 10 years older, is knowing that it is going