Beth and Joanna Humphries to walk 1400km up NSW coast for Heart Foundation

A Torquay mother and daughter duo will trek 1400km up the New South Wales coast in memory of their late husband and father who died from a sudden heart attack.

A Torquay mother and daughter duo will trek 1400km up the New South Wales coast in memory of their late husband and father who died of a sudden heart attack.

Elizabeth Humphries will walk from Nowra in New South Wales to Coolangatta in Queensland, accompanied by her daughter Joanna on her bike.

Mrs Humphries’ husband, Philip Humphries, died after a sudden heart attack on May 14, 2011, aged just 58.

Mr Humphries was a maths teacher at Kardinia International College and lived an active lifestyle, despite arthritic knees slowing him down later in life.

Beth and Phil Humphries. Picture: Supplied

An autopsy revealed Mr Humphries had atherosclerosis, a disease where plaque builds up in the artery walls, causing them to narrow and potentially block blood flow.

This can increase a person’s risk of suffering a heart attack.

“It was unknown to him or anyone,” Mrs Humphries said.

“He had his cholesterol checked every year and it was always in a healthy range.

“He never smoked but he did had high blood pressure but didn’t have other risk factors.”

Mrs Humphries said her husband’s sudden death was extremely difficult for her and her family.

Since his death, his family has participated in community events such as half and full marathons to raise awareness and funds for the Heart Foundation.

“This year, I knew we had to do something really big,” Mrs Humphries said.

“For him, numbers were important.

“That is why we are playing on the number 14, he loved that number.”

The pair hope to raise $14,000 across the 1400km in honour of the 14th anniversary of Phil’s death.

Mrs Humphries has been training up to six days a week ahead of the walk and plans to trek between 20 and 29km each day.

The journey will take them about 60 days, with the aim to finish by the end of June.

“We were sometimes called the royal couple because I’m Elizabeth and he was Philip,” Mrs Humphries said.

“I plan to finish the walk at the Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Coolangatta.

“A few things like that are falling into place and aligning.”

One person dies of a heart attack every 80 minutes, according to the Heart Foundation.

This on average is 19 people every day.

The pair will start walking from Nowra on April 24.

To donate, head to doitforheart.org.au/fundraisers/14forphil.

Originally published as Beth and Joanna Humphries to walk 1400km up NSW coast for Heart Foundation