On Thursday, 11 April, Buckinghamshire resident Stuart Guest visited the headquarters of South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) to celebrate his success in raising over £1300 for the SCAS Charity.
Stuart raised the money by successfully completing a grueling ultra marathon over 32 miles across the hills of South Wales – accompanied by running partner, Pepé, the French Pointer.
He originally set himself a fundraising target of £500 but smashed this, generating an incredible £1,335 donated by family, friends and well-wishers.
What’s even more incredible than the amazing amount of money he raised, is the fact that Stuart completed the challenge after suffering a heart attack in November 2021. The ambulance crew that SCAS sent to Stuart at his home following his wife’s 999 call looked after him all the way to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where he had emergency cardiac surgery with stents fitted to stop the heart attack.
As part of his cardiac rehabilitation, Stuart took up running for the first time in April 2022 and enlisted Pepé as his training partner, becoming part of the Cani Cross community – a sport involving off-road running with your dog that is rapid growing in popularity. Having begun by following the NHS ‘Couch to 5K’ programme, the pair completed their first ever 5km race in November of that year and in October 2022, completed their first ever Cani Trail Ultra Marathon over a distance of over 30 miles.
With Pepé resting at home, Stuart visited SCAS to see Tammy Angus, senior fundraising officer, as well as Paul Coker and Robert Driver, the ambulance crew from one of SCAS’ private provider partners, who responded to his emergency in November 2021 and were delighted to meet up with him again in much happier circumstances.
Read more about Stuart’s frightening experience, as well as his and Pepé’s running feats, here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stuart-pepe-canitrailuk-scas
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