Laurie Brophy, my daughter-in-law’s father, who has died aged 90 from oesophageal cancer, was deeply involved in his local community in Pencoed, near Bridgend, south Wales, inspiring others with his voluntary work and fundraising for the homeless charity Llamau and the children’s disability charity Y Bont.
His first major fundraising exploit came on a very hot day in 1997, running the London Marathon in a fur badger suit in aid of badger protection. Two years later, he ran his first ultra-marathon, the Marathon des Sables, a brutal six-day 156-mile race across the Sahara, the oldest competitor at 67. He did several more ultra-marathons, his last aged 79, in the Atacama desert.
