Jonathan Oakeley
St Jonti Ambulance
Fundraising for St John Ambulance
Story
Long story short - St. John Ambulance saved my life in 2019 when I suffered a cardiac arrest in the last 500m of the Reading Half Marathon. Let's raise some money for them so they can continue the great work and so that anyone who finds themselves in such a situation can get the immediate treatment they need. Any support in any way will be hugely appreciated.
I have, with no small thanks to the very swift actions of the team on the day, made a full physical recovery and been given a clean bill of health. Whilst in hospital I made a promise to myself that I would one day run again to raise funds for St John Ambulance (and awareness of cardiac arrests/importance of first aid training) and, having been cleared by my doctors to be able to run again (allowing for the 2 year pandemic break), I am planning on running 4 half marathons over the next year in aid of St. John Ambulance.
Starting with the Great North Run in September, we'll be rounding out the summer training with the Royal Parks half in London in October this year. Next year brings Wokingham half in February, finishing with a return to the scene of crime (so to speak) at the Reading Half in April 2023.
The plan is to "run" these races at a very casual pace whilst dressed up like an ambulance, with one or two of my friends supporting me. This doesn't mean I'm allowed to stint on the training though...!