Steve Peeters's Fundraising Page

Lynndale Vets Relay Team

The First Auckland Half Marathon Shirt

Family - January 2005

Dave & Steve: Whoever said running was fun??

One day he was here and then he was gone.

I still miss him, really.

What I miss as well is the fact he is not here to see our children.

So, when I read on the heartracer webpage that each day 16 New Zealanders die as a result of coronary heart disease I wondered whether that was a bit far fetched. That’s one person every 90 minutes.

I searched on the statistics web-page and there it is - heart disease is the MAJOR cause of death in the NZ population.

Cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke & blood vessel disease) is the single leading cause of death in New Zealand. It causes 40 percent of all deaths annually in our country - that makes it more deadly than all forms of cancer.

They say many of such deaths are premature and preventable.

You see my Dad died of a heart attack at age 63 (in 1990), and missed out on seeing our children…. Lynn's Dad also died of a heart attack several years ago. Then only recently Mum suffered a stroke.

The nature of who is affected by heart disease is changing. New research shows that young adults in their 20s and 30s are being admitted to hospital for heart attacks than ever before, and that this age group is dying at a faster rate than people of the same age in previous generations. Much of this change is due to unhealthy lifestyles - poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and being a smoker.

The good news is that many risk factors for heart disease are preventable, IF people make healthy lifestyle choices.

So, help me as I join the race to beat heart disease.

I began running within 12 months of developing RSI in 1998 and did my first half marathon in 2000. This 'curse' (RSI) has been a positive in my life - motivating me to make changes, changes I needed to make for my own health's sake.

Since heart disease is preventable and requires research I decided it was a good thing to sign up as a Heart Racer to raise money to support The National Heart Foundation of New Zealand.

When you donate through this webpage you will be helping the Heart Foundation continue its vital work in research, cardiac rehabilitation, education programmes and resources.

I will continue to do the training for and completing this, and other events, but with your donation together we can make a difference to the hearts of New Zealanders.

Why? So more grandparents can be around to bless our children.

Will you sponsor me?

If so, select the "Make a donation" button below. It’s simple, fast and totally secure and the money goes directly to the Heart Foundation’s bank account.

If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

Think about it first. Then, please donate. Please pass this on to everyone you know!

Cheers