A Watford-born man persevered during the weekend’s heatwave and completed a 100-mile race in just over 22 hours raising money in his father’s memory.

Ed Scott surpassed his £1,000 target and raised £2,419 with the proceeds going to Watford’s Peace Hospice.

The 29-year-old took part in the South Downs Way 100 race on Saturday.

Watford Observer: Ed raised more than £2,000 for the Peace Hospice in WatfordEd raised more than £2,000 for the Peace Hospice in Watford (Image: Mark Wardell)

Ed’s father, Brian Scott a married father-of-three, who lived in Bushey, died of a grade four brain tumour only three months after diagnosis, which came as a huge shock to his whole family.

The tumour was only spotted after a brain scan following a fall at home.

Due to Peace Hospice’s support given to Brian and his family, Ed decided to raise money for the charity.

Ed said: “The service that Peace Hospice Care provides is unspeakably important. I want to make sure other families get that same support when they need it.”

Watford Observer: Ed Scott (in yellow) came 30th out of 190 people who finished the race.Ed Scott (in yellow) came 30th out of 190 people who finished the race. (Image: Emily Poynton)

Initially, Ed planned to run the race in under 21 hours, but due to the heat his focus switched to doing it under 24 hours.

He said: “What an experience. Ferocious heat forced me to be patient, but persistent all day.”

A total of 340 people started the race, 190 finished and Ed came in 30th.

Donations cane still be made via, https://bit.ly/43P5Qc0.

Brian was stuck in hospital throughout the Christmas period, he was eventually discharged and cared for at home by his family, supported by Peace Hospice’s community-based nurses, before he was admitted as an in-patient at the hospice during the final few weeks of his illness.

Ed said: “The Peace Hospice nurses were such a reassuring presence. It made a huge difference to us all, I think, just having someone in the room who wasn’t there to fix things, but who understood this was a part of life.

“They didn’t just attend to Dad’s medical needs but listened to us, talked and comforted us when we were sad, and helped with practical advice.”

Tasneem Choucair, senior community fundraiser at Peace Hospice Care, said: “Ed’s epic fundraising effort will ensure we can be there to support more local people and their families, who are facing life-limiting illnesses.”