Darlington woman running seven marathons in seven days for charity

Anna Jordinson is raising money for the British Heart Foundation

Author: Karen LiuPublished 31st Mar 2024

A woman from Darlington is attempting to run seven marathons in seven days to raise money for charity.

Anna Jordinson is doing it for the British Heart Foundation after helping to save a man's life using CPR two years ago.

She started on Thursday (28th) March and is aiming to finish by Thursday 4th April.

Anna, who learned CPR when she worked as a police officer, was at the concert with her mother on 15 December 2022 when a man sitting diagonally in front of her fell to the floor. She said he seemed fit and healthy before he collapsed.

She said: “There were about 150 people there and only me and one other man stepped in. In this situation so many people just freeze and don’t know what to do. This is the inspiration behind my fundraising – it is so important that people learn how to do CPR so they have the confidence to save a life like we did that day.

Anna said she and the other man spent about 30 minutes taking it in turns to perform CPR before the ambulance arrived. She said she hadn’t met the man they saved after he was taken to hospital, but had heard he had recovered well.

She added: "I have done a few marathons, including the New York and Rome marathons, so wanted something a bit more challenging. I’ll be doing them on the streets around Darlington with the support of my sister and a friend, who will be doing some bits with me. I don’t have a time in mind - I'm just hoping to finish them all!”

Leya Baksh, BHF fundraising manager for North Yorkshire and County Durham, said: “This is an incredible story in so many ways – first Anna is a CPR hero after saving a man’s life, now she’s taking on this amazing challenge to raise money for the BHF.

“Well done Anna – you are truly inspirational.”

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