Friends raise thousands for air ambulance in honour of Worthing baby

His mother Siobhan Murphy and 19 others completed the Run 31 challenge set by Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS), which invited supporters to run 31 miles throughout January.

The air ambulance was called to Siobhan’s home in Findon last June. The team arrived quickly and did all they could – but, tragically, they could not save Eddie.

Siobhan, also mother to Eddie’s twin Hugo, knew she wanted to do something to give back to the charity, which is mostly funded by public donations, once she was ready. “Last year was obviously a very difficult year,” she said.

The team of 20 included school friends she had known for 30 years.

“Everyone was very keen to help,” the 43-year-old said. “It was so overwhelming.”

Unable to run together due to pandemic restrictions, the friends formed a Whatsapp group to motivate each other to keep running amid the rain and cold.

“Not many of us had run at all last year,” Siobhan said. “It was a huge challenge for everybody.

“It’s not something that comes naturally to us but we absolutely loved it.”

Siobhan managed to reach her personal goal of getting to mile 31 on day 20 – which she said was a ‘huge achievement’. By the end of the month she had run 46.5 miles – raising £12,200.

And she said: “For my mental health, it’s massively improved my mental wellbeing.”

Overall, the team raised £22,000 for the air ambulance – which Siobhan said was ‘unbelievable’. “We are so chuffed with ourselves,” she said.

Visit www.facebook.com/donate/720401495250345/ to donate.

The air ambulance is now inviting people to take part in one of two challenges for March.

Run 31 involves participants running a total of 31 miles in March and Squat 3100 is for those who wish to complete 3100 squats by the end of the month.

Helene Poursain, Director of Fundraising and Events at KSS, said: “Building on the success of our January fitness fundraising campaign, we are excited to be organising Run 31 in March and we have added a new twist, Squat 3100, to encourage people to get involved if running doesn’t appeal to them.

“We hope to match the success of January’s Run 31 and urge people across Kent, Surrey and Sussex to take part and help to continue to save more lives.”

To find out more, visit www.aakss.org.uk