TJ employee to run the London Marathon for Wessex Heartbeat

TJ’s Commercial and Operations Manager Paul Smith is running the London Marathon 2020 to raise money for Wessex Heartbeat.

Wessex Heartbeat is a charity set up to support the work of the Wessex Cardiac Centre in Southampton, which ensures that people being treated for heart conditions will receive the best care and support to treat their condition.

The combination of world-class clinical teams and significant investment in the Wessex Cardiac Centre have turned it into one of the foremost Cardiac Centres in the UK and Internationally.

Since 1992, over £16 million has been raised for this cause, enabling crucial improvements to be made to the Centre. Some of our most notable projects include the creation of Heartbeat House, the children’s Ocean Ward and the Heartbeat Education Centre, YACU, as well as regular funding of leading-edge equipment, clinical education and research.

When TJ’s Chairman, Terry Higgins was offered a marathon place in return for fundraising, he was more than happy to accept. He knew the opportunity would give a lucky employee the chance to take part in the London Marathon, whilst also raising money for this worthy cause.

Terry knew Paul was a keen runner and offered him the place, which he readily accepted. Together they have pledged to raise the minimum fundraising amount of £2,500, which will go towards the great work Wessex Heartbeat carry out.

Paul said: “I was thrilled to be asked to run the Marathon. I’ve run the London Marathon before but there’s nothing better than completing a marathon in your home capital city. It’s such a great experience and the atmosphere is always electric, everyone cheering you on. To be able to experience all that whilst also raising money for cardiac care is fantastic.”

Visit Paul’s JustGiving page to make a donation to Wessex Heartbeat in support of Paul and the Centre – all support is hugely appreciated.

The London Marathon will take place on Sunday 26 April and is run by over 40,000 people every year. The route takes you around central London starting in Blackheath and finishing in St James’ Park, with much of the route adjacent to the Thames.

Paul is a regular runner, usually running three times a week. Now that he’s in training for the marathon, January saw him doing 5 x eight-mile runs a week. During February and March he plans to up that to several 15-mile runs a week to prepare himself for the extended time on his feet. He’ll continue this into April with a few slightly longer runs too.

Find out more about TJ, the other great fundraising work they’ve done recently and don’t forget to support Paul at JustGiving!