Sixth London marathon has extra meaning
AN INTREPID runner from West Drayton has completed his sixth London Marathon, despite – and also because of – suffering a heart attack last yeat.
William Lonsdale, 66, joined more than 400 British Heart Foundation (BHF) Heart Runners took to the streets of London on Sunday April 22 for the Virgin Money London Marathon, in a united front against heart disease.
The legendary event saw BHF Heart Runners join over 38,000 runners to pound 26.2 miles of the capital’s pavements and raise urgently needed funds for the charity’s heart research.
Keen runner William has raised an incredible £400 so far. Hedecided to take on the iconic challenge after suffering a heart attack last October, completely out of the blue.
He had run the Leicester City Marathon on the Sunday and had ignored symptoms, putting them down to indigestion. The following Friday he was carrying a coffee upstairs at home and suffered a heart attack.
He was taken to hospital and the next day he had an angioplasty and a stent fitted.
William returned to health, and running, after attending cardiac rehabilitation. He ran a half marathon in February and his cardiologist signed him off ahead of the marathon this weekend. He ran an impressive time of 4 hour and 22 minutes despite the heat, completing his sixth London Marathon.
William said after crossing the finish line: “Taking part in the London Marathon was a huge challenge and an incredible experience. The atmosphere on the day was brilliant and I am proud to have been part of the Heart Runners team for such an iconic event. Knowing I was running for a wonderful charity made me determined to succeed.
“It was fantastic to have everyone there cheering me on and to know that my sponsorship money will help the BHF raise funds for life saving research to bring new hope to the seven million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK.”
Karen McDonnell, events manager at the BHF, added: Without the dedication and commitment of people like William we wouldn’t be able to fund research that has broken new ground, revo- lutionised treatments and transformed the lives of millions of people in the UK.
“The stories of why our amazing supporters take part never fails to amaze me and it was incredible to see William and around 400 others take on such a tough challenge and help us stop heart disease in its tracks.”
The event will help the BHF raise close to a million pounds, which will go towards helping us better understand how to prevent, diagnose and treat heart and circulatory disease, which currently affects around seven million people in the UK.
Visit www.bhf.org.uk/events
I am proud to have been part of the Heart Runners team for such an iconic event