More than £10,000 has been raised as hundreds came together in Southampton to support Hampshire Air Ambulance.
As dusk set on Southampton on Saturday, runners covered in neon paint and fancy dress ran through the Common raising just over £11,000 for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA)
The charity that works alongside the NHS to deliver care to sick and injured people relies on donations from the public to keep it in the air.
Gary Parsons, 57, and his wife Penny, from Eastleigh, were two of the 500 people running to raise money for the institution.
Gary’s life was saved by the air ambulance when he had a sudden cardiac arrest while on holiday with his wife and friends on the Isle of Wight last year.
He said: “I collapsed in a pub, at the time there were two nurses there and they gave me CPR for 40 minutes and then the air ambulance turned up and took over.
“It’s a great cause, I always thought they were government funded before what happened to me, but now I realised they’re a charity and they need so much money to keep running and they save so many lives it’s unbelievable.”
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Gary was in the hospital for seven weeks, having to undertake heart surgery, following that it took him eight months to recover.
He had an Implantable cardioverter defibrillator fitted, a device placed on the chest to deliver electric shocks and prevent cardiac arrest.
He added: “It was a long recovery, took me about seven or eight months to recover, I couldn’t go back to work for seven months and I also couldn’t drive because I had an ICD fitted, now I’m a lot better”.
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The crowds began warming up at 7pm with the event kicking off at 7.15pm.
A spokesperson for the charity said they are very grateful for all the donations and said they were hoping the amount donated will increase in the following days.
In previous years the event has raised £15,000 for the air ambulance.
Gwen Rickman, 63, and her family and friends also ran for the fundraiser.
In 2021, Gwen nearly lost her arm when she aquaplaned off the M3 by Winchester and was rescued by the air ambulance.
About the difference the service made to her life, Gwen: “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.”
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