Three courageous people will be running 26.2 miles along London’s famous marathon course in April to raise vital funds for the South Central Ambulance Charity.
Specialist practitioner paramedic, Luke Bawden, and community first responders, Laura Herridge and Simon Donnelly, will all be setting off from the start line in Blackheath on Sunday, 26 April. They will be following a route that will take them past some of London’s most famous attractions, including Tower Bridge and the London Eye before finishing along The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
Luke, who is based at Basingstoke Resource Centre, has to fit in training around his shifts as a specialist practitioner paramedic. Describing himself as a ‘leisure runner – up till now’, Luke add: “Until I picked up an injury, training had been going well! However, I’m getting back up to speed now and still confident that I’ll be there at the start line in April – and get across the finishing line of course!”
On the weekend of 7 and 8 February, Luke will be at Cascades Shopping Centre in Portsmouth, where he lives. He’ll be raising awareness about the lifesaving work of the South Central Ambulance Charity and demonstrating how members of the public can help save lives by learning CPR and how to use a defibrillator.
Luke and his specialist practitioner paramedic colleague, Megan, have also organised a wellbeing charity and solidarity run at St Catherine’s Hill Nature Reserve in Winchester on Sunday, 8 March. The 5k fun run will see runners tackle a mostly flat and scenic run.
“It’s important to stress that we’re running around the hill, not up it!”, said Luke, “so it’s ideal for everyone – whether you want to go for a personal best, enjoy a relaxed run or just a walk with friends – two-legged or four. All we’re asking for is a £5 donation that will go towards my London Marathon fundraising target.”
The meeting point is at the Garnier Road car park for a 10am warm-up, with the event starting at 10:15. Once the course has been run or walked, coffee and cake will be available at The Handlebar Café afterwards.
Laura, who volunteers as a community first responder in Southampton, only took up running in January 2023. This will be her first marathon and she has set herself an ambitious target of raising £3,000. As well as training runs, Laura made and sold Christmas Wreaths as well as organised a bake sale at her local Parkrun in Netley Abbey at the end of January.
“Training has been going really well so far”, said Laura. “I’m running three times a week, I do strength training twice a week and have two rest days. I ran a half marathon distance in training last week and I’ve so far raised £2,140. Luckily, I have lots of people who want to train with me, so it’s been really fun so far.”
Simon is a volunteer community fundraiser in New Milton and is tackling his first marathon at the age of 59. He is hoping to raise £3,000 and is currently at just under 80% of his fundraising target. His daughter, Ellie, joined him at the Bournemouth Half Marathon in October and on crossing the finish line she had raised nearly £1,200 towards her Dad’s fundraising target.
South Central Ambulance Charity receives no NHS funding and is 100% reliant on donations and grants to fund its lifesaving work. Funds raised by the charity are used to fund the emergency equipment used by our volunteer community first responders, such as lifesaving defibrillators and lifting cushions to support non-injury falls, as well as maintaining the 18 dynamic response vehicles used by volunteers. The charity also supports projects to improve the health and wellbeing of SCAS staff.
To support Laura, Luke and Simon’s efforts, visit their online fundraising pages:
Laura: https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/laura-herridge
Luke: https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/luke-bawden
Simon: https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/simon-donnelly
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Notes to editors:
Interviews are available with Luke Bawden by arrangement on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 February.
Media representatives are also welcome to come to Luke’s events at Cascades Shopping Centre, Portsmouth, on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 February, as well as the Charity 5k Fun Run at St Catherine’s Hill Nature Reserve on Sunday, 8 March.