Father of Irish woman who died in Washington last year aims to set world record in her honor

The father of Ella Mills who died in a kayaking accident in Washington DC last September is aiming to set a world record as part of a fundraising campaign for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust (KBRT), which helped bring his daughter home. 

Ralph Mills, whose 20-year-old daughter, Ella, died in a kayaking accident on the Potomac River on September 17, 2023, is aiming to run an aqua marathon to raise funds for the charity. 

Ella had just moved to the US to study English at Columbia University, in New York City, as part of a dual program with Trinity College Dublin when her life was tragically cut short last September. 

Her father, Ralph, plans to run the aqua marathon on August 25, marking the first anniversary of when he last saw his daughter in person before returning home to Dublin last year. 

He will take on the challenge at the West Wood fitness club in Clontarf, running 844 lengths of the pool in chest-deep water measuring 1.25 meters. 

"I’m not a good runner on land. I’ve done a few triathlons and the farthest I’ve run is 10km, but to wind down after a swim, I run a couple of lengths of the pool in West Wood," Mills told the Irish Independent. 

"When I was thinking of possible ways to raise funds for the KBRT, I looked up aqua running and it was passed by the Guinness Records people as a valid record, but the record is not claimed. So I thought I might set that record with a marathon distance.

"In training, I’ve done 24km, but on the day I will need to do 42km, which I estimate will take in the region of 20 hours." 

He said he encouraged his daughter's "sense of adventure" throughout her life, adding that he wanted to honor her by doing something "extraordinary". 

"Now she is gone, I feel the responsibility to heed my own creed, almost as if I were living for two. Besides, if something is to be done in her name, it has to be extraordinary. Anything else would be terrible bathos." 

Mills launched his "One Foot in Front of the Other" fundraiser on GoFundMe and has raised over £3,000 for the KBRT so far. 

In a post on the site, Mills said the preparation process was "harrowing and fraught with complications" and paid tribute to the KBRT for their assistance in bringing his daughter home. 

"On August 25th, 2024, I will be commemorating Ella’s short but accomplished life, while raising funds to enable KBRT to continue this essential work." 

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