I wanted to do something … to work towards a future where no one loses a family member to a brain tumour.”
David Waters
David’s story
David was just four, and his brother Stephen six when their dad died from a brain tumour, leaving their mum to bring up the boys alone. Now 38 – nearing his father’s age when he died – David’s dad has been in his thoughts more and more.
David said: “I often find myself wondering what was going through his mind when he saw his young family and had to confront the reality of leaving it all behind.
“It’s been particularly poignant recently, seeing my nephew pass the age I was when we lost my dad. There’s a profound sadness that my dad isn’t there to see the amazing dad that my brother has become, or that his kids will never know their grandfather.”
A year of challenges!
Inspired to raise funds to help other young families affected by brain tumours – and, as he jokingly admitted – “in direct opposition to my physio’s advice” – David signed up for events large and small. From 5km runs to half marathons, a 182 mile bike ride, and the gruelling 100 mile Coast to Coast Rat Race across the Scottish Highands. He kicked things off with the Callender 10k, in March, before ticking off all the others on his list – including that 100 miler – and has recently completed his final event: the Dramathon full marathon along the Speyside Way.
Digging deep
Although already fairly active, David began his year of challenge with some trepidation, wondering whether his body – in particular, his left knee – would be up to the volume of races he wanted to attempt. To help with this, he began with a series of shorter runs, hoping to build up to the longer distances. He said: “I’ve always been an active person, and as I’d ran a marathon for charity before I was feeling fairly confident. However, it was a few years ago now, and since then I’d had a fairly bad accident injuring my left MCL, my left ankle and my right kneecap.
“From a running fitness perspective, I wasn’t quite starting from zero, but I had lost a lot of confidence in the ability of my left knee to stand up to what I would be asking of it! The shorter races that I had signed up for during the first half of the year were a great way to slowly build up my confidence and fitness, and the frequency of the events meant that I always had to consistently focus on my training.
“I’ve always been fairly unlucky with injuries during my adult life, and I’ve never seemed to be able to enjoy an extended period of time without a fairly sizeable injury happening that has required surgery. In the past I’ve had to have surgery to both shoulders, two surgeries on my wrist and knee surgery; my biggest fear was with the volume of events that an unforeseen injury was going to appear to scupper my chances of completing all of them. At times it has felt pretty close – particularly during day 2 of the 180-mile cycle, and the Dublin Phoenix Park Half Marathon which came off the back of the Coast-to-Coast Rat Race and Great North Run which took place the two previous weekends.”
A surprising aspect of what I’ve been doing is having the opportunity to talk to people about my dad, and what losing him so young meant to me.”
David
“I’ve really enjoyed travelling around not only Scotland, but also the trips to Belfast, Newcastle, Dublin, Cardiff and London have made it feel incredibly special and I’ve gotten to see these places from a very difference perspective than a regular weekend break would have allowed me to see. I’ve also loved having the opportunity to catch up with old friends on my travels, and meeting others who are fundraising not only for The Brain Tumour Charity but also other charities, as it really makes it feel like a shared experience. Another surprising aspect of what I’ve been doing is having the opportunity to talk to people about my dad and what losing him so young meant to me.”
Making a difference
David’s been raising awareness of brain tumours, and collecting donations, throughout 2025 – smashing his original £4,000 target (he’s currently very close to £5,000, including Gift Aid). And there’s no doubt the support of friends and family has kept him going:
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the volume of support that I have received from people, whether that is through donations, encouragement or joining me on training runs. I’ve often found it hard to put into words how much this support has meant to me, but without it I’m certain that I would have given up a few half marathons ago.
“The Dublin Half (completed September 21st) was particularly tough, as it was the first time that what I was doing felt like an accumulation of events instead of one-offs, and my legs were in a really bad way the entire way around the course.
“And I was dreading the Dramathon finale (completed October 18th) as due to the volume of events and the recovery required between them I’ve not quite been able to get up to marathon distance in my training, but having the support of a couple of friends who were also running the marathon was huge in seeing me across the finish line.”
Find out more about David’s year of fundraising here.
Feeling inspired? If you would like to devise your own challenge or take part in one that’s already planned, our community fundraising team is happy to support!