Life is precious...
I have wrangled with myself as to whether I should write this article. I have been writing on here for over 4 years now, and the last few days have been an extremely sad time for those involved in fell running, especially those who knew Darren Holloway…
Some people will know that I live in a little village called Corris, nestled in the Dulas Valley, adjacent to the Dyfi Valley, 4 miles from Machynlleth.
Last week was one of the most emotional weeks of my life. I was embroiled in a search, as search for a little girl who I didn’t know, yet anyone within 50 miles wanted to be out there, because we felt the pain. Nothing else seemed to matter that week, I struggled on with work as best I could, and there was a knot in my stomach, which pervaded the tiredness – physical and emotional – of the search.
Then I went away at the weekend, went to an event, and through all of the sadness managed to share a good time with good people up in Kielder. As I got in my car to travel back there seemed hope, as I spoke to my little family back in Wales on the 5 hour drive home. Then it returned. First a text message, then the tweets, the ‘knot’ was back.
I too, like many people, didn’t know ‘Daz H’. Yet as a kindred spirit who enjoys mountains and the outdoors, I feel I did somehow. He was a keen competitor and getting better with age, and at 42 the same age as me. In my work on this site I had seen his image many times too, snapped at a fell race by Andy Holden, Al Tye or Dave Woodhead, close to the front of many a race.
He seemed like the sort of guy we would all like to have as a friend – encouraging of others, likeable and full of life.
I can’t possibly write anything else about Darren, as I didn’t know him, and would be disrespectful to those that did, and especially his family. But to those of you who read this site on a regular basis and don’t visit the FRA, or even know too much about fell running and the unique community, just take a few minutes out of your day to visit this page of tributes to Darren.
It will restore any doubts you may have about the human species, it will give you an essence of how thoughtful and humble those involved in the sport are, and it might remind you that life is very precious.
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NB: For those wishing to make a donation to the chosen charities for Darren visit this page. Thanks.
