Half Marathon For - St John NZ

My name is Mark i am 39 years old and never thought I would have a heart atttack.

Last year i set myself a task of running the Queenstown half marathon, I trained well I was fit and ready for the race.....well so I thought.

During the race, I started feeling a bit off but kept pushing, I continued to push through what I thought was tiredness as I had been going at a good pace so I kept running until I passed out and had a heart attack.

My heart attack was caused due to severe dehydration to the point where my kidneys shut down and my body was relying on my heart to do everything and it ended up not being able to cope. This is where the St Johns Ambulance service came to my aid. The crew took great care of me-getting me to the Ambulance with the help of others as I could not walk, then getting me to the hospital - if St Johns were not there this might be a very different story. I was then transferred to Dunedin where i spent 5 days. Myself and my family are forever grateful for the help I received and for the ride to Dunedin Hospital.

I want to show my appreciation by running and finishing the Queenstown Half Marathon and while doing so raising some money for a great cause.