42-year-old Matt Jones, a resident of Great Britain, covered more than 100 kilometers of mountainous terrain with a 37-kilogram refrigerator on his back. In this way, he fulfilled a promise he once made to his wife as a joke – before she suddenly died. About this informs BBC.
Matt Jones is a former Marine and father of four: Evra, 6, Arai, 8, Alistair, 11, and Charlie, 13. The story began in 2024, when after hip surgery, the doctor advised Jones to slow down the pace of life.
In response to this, his wife Vikki joked:
“This madman will run the route with a cooler on his back next time.”
To which Matt replied that he would even take a fridge freezer and do it twice.
Then the wife answered:
“You’ve made a bet, Mr. Jones.”
When Vicky died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition at the age of 43 on Christmas Eve, Jones decided to fulfill her challenge. He began training in January and admitted the Welsh mountains had become his “church” as he prepared, where he mourned his wife of more than two decades.
As a result, Jones walked more than 100km of the Cloydian Range in less than 36 hours, carrying a 37kg fridge-freezer on his back. During this campaign, he collected 50 thousand pounds, which he donated to the charity Hope House – the one supported by his wife.
“This challenge was never about being physically fit. It was about fulfilling a promise to my children and keeping Vikki’s spirit alive.” Jones said.
