A Clifton man who lost his wife to leukaemia earlier this year has raised more than £15,000 for Leukaemia Care after completing a gruelling 40-mile run along Denmark’s famous Danish Riviera.
Jeff Salter, who lives in Clifton, Bedfordshire, was joined by six friends (the Danish Dashers), running around 10 miles a day over four days from September 7-10 along the north coast of Zealand.
The group originally set themselves a fundraising target of £3,000, but have now raised more than £15,000, with donations continuing to come in. The challenge was particularly poignant for Jeff, whose wife Tina died from AML on March 26, aged 54, following a sudden and aggressive return of the disease.
Tina had lived with Crohn’s disease for many years and was admitted to hospital in 2025 after what initially appeared to be a severe flare-up. After a lengthy stay, she was diagnosed with AML and was due to begin chemotherapy, only for doctors to discover that her blood markers had unexpectedly returned to normal.
The couple were given a precious period of hope, travelling and spending time with family and friends, before Tina’s leukaemia returned suddenly in December 2025. She began chemotherapy but her condition deteriorated rapidly and she died in hospital in March, before she could undergo the bone marrow transplant that had been planned.
Jeff and Tina fell in love with the Danish Riviera while visiting in 2023, and returned in the summer of 2025 while Tina was recovering, believing they had been given an unexpected second chance.
The original plan had been for Tina to support Jeff and the rest of the group during the run, but following her passing Jeff and his friends decided to complete it in her memory. Jeff said: “When Tina was in hospital, we had already decided we were going to do this run and raise money for Leukaemia Care. After she died, I got the group back together and said I still wanted to do it.
“It was a way of honouring Tina, but it also gave us something positive to focus on at a very difficult time. Grief doesn’t disappear, but life around it can slowly grow again. Doing something with friends, raising money for a charity that had been there for us, and going somewhere that meant so much to Tina and me felt like the right thing to do.”
Leukaemia Care had supported Tina and Jeff throughout her illness, providing practical and emotional support while she was in hospital, as well as counselling for Jeff following her death.
Jeff said the charity’s support was one of the main reasons he and his friends chose to raise money for Leukaemia Care. “They were there for Tina in hospital when we needed them, helping with practical things as well as providing emotional support,” he said.
“They don’t just support the patient, they recognise that the illness affects the whole family. That was incredibly important to us.”
The group completed the 40-mile route in four days, with individual stages ranging from around six to 13.5 miles.
The challenge culminated at Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, where representatives from Leukaemia Care were waiting to greet the runners. The group later travelled to Copenhagen, another place with special memories for Jeff and Tina, to mark the end of the challenge with friends.
Colin Dyer, chief executive of Leukaemia Care, said: “Jeff and his friends have taken on an extraordinary challenge in memory of Tina, and we are incredibly grateful for the support they have shown to Leukaemia Care.
“Jeff has experienced first-hand the difference that practical, emotional and compassionate support can make when someone is facing blood cancer. The fact that the group set out to raise £3,000 and have now raised more than £15,000 is a remarkable achievement. Every donation will help us continue to support people affected by leukaemia and their families when they need us most.”
For Jeff, completing the Danish Dash was both an emotional and physical challenge. He added: “Crossing that finish line was overwhelming. We were happy that we’d done something we had set out to do, but Tina was foremost in all of our minds.
“Everyone who was there knew her and had been part of what we’d been through. There were a lot of emotions, but there was also a real sense that we’d done something worthwhile.”
The fundraising page remains open, with the total currently standing at more than £15,000 against the original £3,000 target.
To support Jeff and the Danish Dash, visit: JustGiving – The Danish Dash for Tina and Leukaemia Care
