I am planning on completing my first marathon in memory of a close friend and an unbelievable character Jon. For those who knew him know how much of a popular bloke and great man he was. Jon would never shy away from a challenge with a ‘can do’ attitude to anything that he came across. He had an infectious personality and would always be seen with a mischievous cheeky grin on his face not knowing what he was going to do next.

Jon was 28 when he died – just two weeks before he was due to be best man at his brother’s wedding.

Prior to the wedding, six family members ran the 2025 Bristol Half Marathon. It was all part of the run up to the big day, although Jon didn’t need any incentives to get fit. He was a super fit high performing rugby player, ran everyday mixed with gym work, cycling and swimming. With a marathon and several physical events behind him, Jon didn’t need to train for a half marathon.

Leading the family field by some margin Jon reached mile 12 without any symptoms, signs of distress or difficulty. At the time of writing, Jon’s death has been attributed to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. It appears his heart stopped suddenly and was not able to be restarted, despite the best efforts of medically trained first responders being on hand immediately and a critical care team being in attendance within minutes.

With your donation, CRY can reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD) by working with cardiologists and family doctors to establish good practice and appropriate screening facilities to promote and protect the cardiac health of our young.

By supporting CRY you will help save young lives from these potentially fatal cardiac conditions.

See how your support can help by visiting www.c-r-y.org.uk