Running success - from London to New York

For the first time in the history of St John Ambulance Bedfordshire, a senior volunteer has successfully run in both the London Flora Marathon and the New York Marathon, raising valuable funds in excess of £10,000.00 to support the operational requirements of St John Ambulance.

County Staff Officer - Neil Peddie runs over 1,000 miles....

In 2006 Neil Peddie and a number of members of staff from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office set a challenge of running the London Flora Marathon in April 2007 and in the process provide funds to support the operational needs of St John Ambulance. 

Following the successful completion of this event Neil Peddie, County Staff Officer – Operational Support in Bedfordshire, set his sights on a higher challenge of running both the Great North Run and New York Marathon. 

The biggest challenge was gaining a space in the events but once this had been established 20 weeks worth of training took place running on average five days a week all in the aid of St John Ambulance.

On 4 November  while a number of people within the UK were celebrating bonfire night Neil started his challenge of running one of the worlds biggest events.

At  10.10am (3.10pm London time) he crossed the start heading up a steep incline of the Verazano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island into Brooklyn.

The race then crosses four more bridges from Brooklyn into Queens then across from Queens to Manhattan via the Queensboro Bridge over into The Bronx before returning to Manhattan on the famous 5^th Avenue towards the finish at Central Park.

Neil completed the race in four hours and forty seven minutes following a problem at the start (too many people not enough road space).

He said: 'Pain was not an option. After flying several thousand miles to New York, i had to get to the end, even if it was the next day.....what a day.'

Neil has committed to running the London Flora Marathon again next year and has started his training in preparation for the event.

If you wish to find out more about St John Ambulance or how you could raise funds for the organisation please contact our events team and mention Neil’s name.