Patchway businessman to run Bristol 10k to help local air ambulance

A Patchway businessman is preparing to take part in his very first running race, the Bristol 10k on Sunday 11th May, raising money for the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC).

One of John Williams’ passions is to help local businesses to use their IT in an easy to understand and productive way, helping them grow and profit, which is why he has run his own computer business, Absolutely PC in Patchway for the last nine years with his friendly and knowledgeable team.

John used to be a toxicologist and still has a passion for all things medical. His other pastime is learning to fly a 4-seater Piper Warrior aeroplane and, in December 2012, he booked a training flight from Filton, as he wanted to experience his local airport before they closed it down and when he was there, he wondered what would happen to the emergency service helicopters that were stationed there. After some investigation, he was relieved to find that they were able to stay, but that the Great Western Air Ambulance was in need of money for them to upgrade their helicopter.

So, a worthy charity that combines flying and medical – there was only one choice for him, and so he started jogging, not much of a challenge 20 years ago when rugby, wind surfing, rock climbing and fairly much anything that presented a challenge at the time was the norm, but certainly enough of a challenge for John in his current fitness state by his own admission: “After I started university and the sporting activities slowly stopped whilst the diet remained the same, you can guess the outcome. Oh yes, 18 stone of muscle became 19 stones of flab!”

To support John and donate to GWAAC, please visit:
uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AbsolutelyPC

Great Western Air Ambulance, based on the former Filton Airfield site, is one of the very few air ambulances which works to the ‘Gold Standard’ Critical Care Model, which means rushing a Critical Care Paramedic and Critical Care Doctor (the majority of which are volunteers) to the scene of an incident. Essentially, they are a flying Accident and Emergency Department.

The team flies seven days a week, 365 days a year and attends over 100 incidents per month, making it one of the busiest air ambulances in the UK.