A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting of the Doncaster Junior Football League and listened to the emotional story about a young football player at another grass-roots football club in Doncaster who suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during a pre-season friendly game. Fortunately, the heroic actions of one of the coaches, who administered CPR, together with the swift arrival of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance meant that this story had a happy ending.

Statistics show that if you have a cardiac arrest outside of hospital and with no trained people nearby, the chance of survival is just 6%. Incredibly, this rises to 60% if there is a defibrillator to hand. These statistics, coupled with the recent event in Doncaster, together with other incidents such as and tragic death of schoolboy Luke Chapman while playing rugby, highlight the benefits of sports clubs having adequate training and equipment.

Blyth Bombers has been debating the need for a defibrillator for some time and and the club will be purchasing one to ensure that the club has taken the correct precautions against Sudden Cardiac Arrest which can effect anyone, any age, any size, any time. The device will benefit not only the players and coaches, but also the local residents and teams which visit or play at the club.

The cost of a defibrillator is around £1000, so I'm running a half marathon every week for 20 weeks to support the club's fundraising towards this . I'll be starting with Worksop half marathon on 30th October 2016 and finishing with Retford half marathon on 12th March 2017.

Please support this cause with a donation so that we can get this potentially life saving equipment in place and ensure that we are fully trained in how to use it.