Hey, I'm Chris Busby and I enjoy a challenge. 

I ran my first marathon last year, the day before my 30th birthday, around the streets where I live with only a couple of runs under my belt for training. I was determined to have run a marathon before turning 30 and glad to say I succeeded.

Fast forward 10 months and my wife (to be), who is on the committee for the school parents association at James Oglethorpe Primary School, was talking about raising funds to purchase a defibrillator for the school our children attend, the school I also attended as a child. I had been trying to think of a reason to run in my inflatable dinosaur costume for some time after having a lot of fun with my kids and their friends at Halloween. 

I told her I would run a marathon on the school field dressed in my dinosaur costume to raise the funds and the rest is history. After measuring how many laps of the school field I'd need to do and working it out to be 98, I thought let's round that up to 100 shall we. 100 laps of the school field in my inflatable dinosaur costume, what a sight it'll be.

After doing some research on defibrillators in schools, I found some shocking statistics. The government’s statutory guidance on supporting children with medical conditions advises that educational establishments should purchase a defibrillator (AED) as part of their duty of care to protect pupils with particular healthcare needs. It is important though to be aware that sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can affect anyone at any time, and does not require a pre-existing health condition to strike. The importance of having a defibrillator nearby if a pupil or staff member should suffer sudden cardiac arrest cannot be overstated.

For every minute someone is in cardiac arrest without CPR and access to a defibrillator, their chances of survival drops by up to 10%. Calling 999 and administrating immediate treatment with CPR and using a defibrillator before the Paramedics arrive, gives the patient the best chance of survival from 6% to over 74%. Around 270 children die after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest each year in schools in the UK.

I'd be so grateful for any sponsorship you can afford to give but also if you could share this far and wide. It really is an important cause for a school close to our hearts. 

Any money raised over the target will be put towards training staff and maintenance of the machine to make sure we always have access to this life saving equipment in the heart of our school community.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and thank you in advance for any donations and shares!