WITH two heart attacks and a case of bowel cancer between them, you’d expect Michael Meredith and Terry Maloney to take things easy. But the two friends, aged 54 and 51, are not the sort to put up their feet and do nothing. They are gearing up to walk 176 miles along Offa’s Dyke. And if that wasn’t enough, straight afterwards they will be cycling from North Wales to Morriston Hospital.

They’re taking part in the epic trek to raise money for The Mullany Fund—the charity set up in memory of murdered Swansea Valley couple Ben and Catherine Mullany.

For Michael it’s a deeply personal matter—he was Ben’s uncle. He said: “I just had to do something. Some good has to come out of this tragedy.”

“I am honoured for Ben to have been my nephew — he was a great sportsman and while very competitive, always considerate.”

“I was over-the-moon when he and Cath had got together because she was such a lovely girl.”

“I know the journey up to Offas Dyke and back is going to be tough, but I don’t care what pain I put myself through —it will only be a fraction of what my nephew and his wife suffered.”

Michael and Terry have been putting in plenty of training ahead of the challenge. They’ve been going for “short” 17-mile training sessions near Michael’s home in Pontllanfraith. And they’ve also got plenty of experience under their belts in taking on tough tests of fitness.

Former Welsh league football referee Terry said: “Between us we’ve done the New York Marathon, walked from John O’Groats to Lands End and done the three peaks challenge.”

Quite remarkable considering the two Tesco lorry drivers have both been through serious battles with ill health. The pair have both had heart attacks, and Michael was diagnosed with bowel cancer two years ago.

“I’ve been given the all-clear by doctors,” he added. “Touch wood, I’ll be fine.

“I’m more preoccupied with the Offa’s Dyke walk to be honest. We’re both really looking forward to it.”

On March 19, next year, they will be setting off from Chepstow before they head North up Offa’s Dyke. They will be walking up to 40 miles a day on rough terrain. Terry quipped: “It’s a good job Michael’s got his magic pair of boots. He’s notorious for getting blisters, so he went out and bought special shoes.”

But the duo will also need to have a padded pair of shorts handy too, because they are going to ride down the same route before carrying on from Chepstow to Morriston Hospital. Physio Ben, and Cath, aged 31, were killed following a suspected robbery in their Antigua hotel chalet on July 27. They had been married less than a fortnight.

Friends and family of the couple set up the Mullany Fund in their memory. It gives financial help to UK medical students. Michael added: “It’s a good way of carrying on the good work they had started. It’s certainly something close tomy heart, and I’m going to give it my all on the Offa’s Dyke challenge.”

Offa’s What? 

• Offas Dyke is a 176 mile bumpy earthwork which follows the border of England and Wales.
• It gets its name from Offa, King of Mercia from 757 to 796AD.
• No-one knows exactly why it was built, but many theories reckon it was constructed as a border.
• It is more than 1,200 years old, but The Offa’s Dyke Path has only been open since 1971.

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