Hi My name is Mark Potts.  I am a very overweight, unfit, 51 year old lazy person who thinks walking to the shops is a bit much but I have been in awe of our amazing NHS and all the frontline workers who are keeping us safe.

My day job is as an IT Consultant who spends most of his time sat at a computer so I have been moved to apply to South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) to become a Community First Responder (CFR).  In this role I can support the NHS and my local community. 

While going through the application process I found out there is no government funding for the CFR programme and it costs around £2000 to cover the cost of training and equipping a new CFR.  I was also shocked to learn that the South Central Ambulance Charity needs to spend in excess of £200k per year on this programme all of it raised through fundraising.

So I asked myself what could I do, at least to cover the cost of recruiting a new CFR, but also hopefully to make a dent in the annual commitment.  During this tough time many of the traditional fundraising events have been cancelled so it is quite difficult to raise money.  I have decided that I will challenge myself to walk the length of the Thames Path, a distance of 184 miles.    

Due to the current Covid 19 restrictions I will have to complete this walk virtually.  So I will be using my 1 hour a day of exercise to walk as far as I can until I reach my goal of 184 miles.

I will be using this page to keep track of my progress so all of the very kind donors who support me can keep track of how I am doing with my challenge.  With only 1 hour a day and starting from a position of zero fitness I am aware this challenge may take me a while to complete but I hope I can raise lots of money to help the NHS and in particular the South Central Ambulance Service.

Thank you for your support.