A 100-Mile Tribute to Aaron: Raising Awareness for Meningitis B
Anthony Mills stood outside Anfield with a strange feeling for a grieving father: something close to peace.
Nine months after meningitis B tore his 18-year-old son Aaron from him, the dad from Kidderminster believes he has finally begun to secure the legacy his son deserved – and it has taken a 100-mile run, a pot of ashes and a relentless campaign to get there.
A 100-Mile Tribute
On Sunday, family friend Shaun McEntee completed a run of more than 100 miles, setting off from Kidderminster Harriers’ Aggborough Stadium and finishing at Liverpool’s Anfield. It was part endurance feat, part moving tribute, and entirely about one message: don’t ignore MenB.
McEntee didn’t just run. Along the way, he and Mills stopped at campuses to talk to students about the bacterial infection that killed Aaron. They visited the University of Wolverhampton, Harper Adams University in Shropshire, Reaseheath College & University Centre in Nantwich and the University of Chester.
The reaction, Mills said, was sobering.
Most of the students had never heard of MenB. They didn’t know the symptoms. They didn’t know there was a vaccine.
For Mills, that ignorance is terrifying. Babies have been routinely vaccinated against MenB for more than a decade, but Aaron’s age group missed out. His mission now is to make sure others don’t pay the same price.
A Father’s Mission
Mills has thrown himself into that mission since January, trying to match the scale of his son’s potential with the scale of the campaign.
“Aaron was an incredible person and to just let him go like that... it just felt so wrong,” he said. “I’ve really tried to get his legacy over the last nine months to what it should be because his potential was unlimited.”
The run, the talks, the conversations with young people who had never considered meningitis B – all of it has helped him feel something he didn’t expect.
“The whole experience was just amazing. I feel a bit guilty because I enjoyed every single minute of it,” he admitted. “I’m kind of at peace. A lot of people know Aaron’s name, they know Aaron’s story, and it’s really helped me a lot. I feel like I can move forward a bit... I’ve healed a lot of wounds from it and it was incredible, the whole thing.”
He knows the work isn’t finished. Awareness has grown, but he still sees gaps, still hears the same surprised responses when MenB is mentioned. “There’s still work to be done,” he said.
Carried by Ashes and Promises
For McEntee, the five-day run became as much an emotional test as a physical one.
Speaking outside Anfield, he didn’t bother to dress it up. “I’m exhausted, so tired, but it’s been so worth it. I feel like we’ve actually got the message across.”
There were moments on the route that stuck with him – not the miles, but the conversations. “There were a couple of moments that in my head could have saved a couple of lives,” he said. Students told them they would get the vaccine because of what they had heard.
“That,” he added, “is obviously massively worth it.”
What kept him going when the legs started to go? A small cannister, and the weight of a promise.
“I had a little cannister of [Aaron’s] ashes that I’ve been carrying with me for the full five days and that’s what has pushed me through,” he said. “Thursday and Friday were really tough. It was probably the lowest I had been. The weather was against us and I was already exhausted and I knew I had lots to go.”
Still, he ran on, step after painful step, with Aaron’s ashes in his possession and Aaron’s story in his head.
By the time he reached Anfield, the exhaustion was obvious. So was the impact. A father felt able to breathe again. A friend felt the pain in his legs had bought something precious: a few more people vaccinated, a few more lives potentially saved.
The miles are done. The campaign isn’t.
