
Powys runner raises thousands in marathon after saving life
Lee was carrying his phone at the time, which he usually never does, and phoned the emergency services."One of the first questions they ask is, is the patient breathing?" he said. I checked and I could tell straight away he wasn't, so I went straight into CPR."Lee performed CPR for about 20 minutes until paramedics arrived.Darren initially thought the collapse was caused by acid reflux, but later discovered he had suffered a cardiac arrest."I've got no memory of it, that's the strange thing," he said."I can't even remember what feeling I had in my body."
Darren said his running route is usually "very, very quiet" adding that it was "pure luck" someone found him.The fact that his "hero" Lee also knew how to perform CPR was a life-saving bonus.Lee was inspired to run in the London Marathon and said the atmosphere was something he had "never experienced"."It was incredible the amount of people shouting your name and the support was ridiculous really," Lee said.He was "pleased" with his time finishing in a very respectable time of three hours and 51 minutes, raising thousands for charity."I was just pleased to get around in the end to be honest," he said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Powys County Times
2 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Father who fell to death at Oasis Wembley show was a ‘lifelong fan'
The father of a 'lifelong fan' who fell to his death at the end of an Oasis concert at Wembley Stadium has said the whole family is 'devastated'. Landscape gardener Lee Claydon, 45, of Bournemouth, Dorset, died following the incident at the London event on Saturday, according to his family. Speaking at his Bournemouth home, Clive Claydon, 75, told the PA news agency: 'He was a lovely bloke, loved to be with his family – a hard-working family man, he loved his kid, looked after them really well.' He added: 'He had everything going for him. I am so devastated, I have been to the doctor for tablets and everything to get over it.' He said that Lee, who is a father of one and was set to go on holiday with his family soon to Turkey, had gone to the concert with his brother and his brother's children, might have had a 'couple of beers' but had not taken any drugs. Mr Claydon said: 'He doesn't take drugs, he may have had a couple of beers but who hadn't there, people have said horrible things but it was just an accident.' Mr Claydon said that he was concerned about the safety measures at Wembley but added his son's brother and family had not seen the accident happen. 'It must have been horrific,' he said. 'All I know is there was beer everywhere, it's slippery, he slipped apparently, we do not know the rest of it, there's questions about the barriers.' He added: 'Of all the thousands of people there, it had to be my son.' A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium said: 'Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard. 'We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.' The Health and Safety Executive has been informed. The Metropolitan Police are asking for anyone who witnessed the incident, or have mobile phone footage, to come forward. A fundraising page, which has been set up to help raise money for Mr Claydon's partner and son, has already reached over £2,000. 'Our family has been turned upside down and are struggling to deal with this devastation and unexpected loss,' Aaron Claydon wrote on the page. 'Lee was a loving family man who was a role model to his son. 'Lee would have done anything for any of us and he was taken from us far too soon, and we will miss him so very much. 'Lee loved all outdoor activities, one of his favourite hobbies was fishing. He also loved music and his guitar. He also really enjoyed going to watch and support the boys and his nephew at their football games.' The fall happened during a run of stadium shows for the band's sell-out Live '25 reunion tour – their first since splitting in 2009. Oasis said in a statement: 'We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan at the show. 'Oasis would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved.'

Leader Live
5 hours ago
- Leader Live
Glamorgan call-up for talented Northop spinner Franco
Northop player Franco has been drafted into the squad after impressive performances for Glamorgan's Academy and second XI sides. Having first impressed the Glamorgan coaches while playing for Hawarden Park, left-arm spinner Franco was selected in the Glamorgan Academy last winter. After picking up wickets with his left-arm orthodox bowling for Wales National County and Glamorgan Seconds, he has been offered his first professional contract. He told the club's website on Monday: 'I am very excited to wear the Glamorgan shirt in the 50-over competition. Lots of nerves as well, but I am looking forward to getting out there in the field tomorrow. 'To be honest, my transition from playing club cricket in north Wales to now signing for Glamorgan has been very smooth, thanks to some great coaches in the setup. 'The likes of Darren (Darren Thomas), Claydes (Michael Clayden) and Sparky (Mark O'Leary), who have helped me through age-group cricket and second team cricket, Shawes (Adrian Shaw) and Watty (Steve Watkin) as well.' Glamorgan started the defence of their One Day Cup title against Hampshire at Neath Cricket Club today. They are back at Neath on Thursday for the meeting with Derbyshire.


BreakingNews.ie
9 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Paula Radcliffe: ‘The mindset of a marathon is a great precursor for going through life'
One of Britain's most successful ever sportspeople, distance runner Paula Radcliffe, may have retired 10 years ago, but this year she completed two marathons for the first time since hanging up her professional running shoes. 'It was definitely with a view to taking part,' the 51-year-old says, with a laugh, and she has to manage a foot joint niggle doing 26.2 mile races these days. Advertisement 'And the camaraderie of runners together on marathon day – it's very special. You have 50,000 or 60,000 people, largely going through the same motions, on the same day and sharing that together.' Radcliffe, who held the women's marathon world record from 2003 to 2019 after setting a time of 2:15:25 in London, completed the Tokyo and Boston marathons in the spring and plans to run the Kielder Marathon, Northumberland, in October. But her relationship to running has evolved in the past decade. Previously, 'pushing myself and seeing how good I could be was this huge motivating factor – now it's just like, OK, I feel a bit better after I've run.' Paula was a previous winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year (Anthony Devlin/PA) Plus, the three-time winner of the London Marathon says running gives her time to think. 'That's one of the reasons I try and encourage kids to find the sport that's good for them. It may not be running, but it was running for me, and when I was going through the stress of exams or trying to work on homework problems, I would find if I went out for a run, part way through that run, sometimes, [I'd realise] 'Oh that's how you do it'. Advertisement 'Even now, if I've got a full day of work, it's like that. My mind is a little bit sharper. If I'm trying to write something, I'll go out for a run first and then come back and start writing. [It could be] the increased oxygen to the brain, I don't know. 'And equally, when I've been through tough times, when I lost my dad [in April 2020], it's like processing, it's perspective.' The retired athlete now makes regular appearances in the BBC Sport broadcasting team for athletics and long-distance events, as well as co-hosting the Paula's Run Club podcast with distance runner Chris Thompson. Learning to cope with the psychological journey of a marathon has been a great lesson in getting through challenging times too, she notes. Advertisement 'I think the mindset of the marathon is a great precursor for going through life. There are ups and downs in the marathon, and you basically get through them by using your coping techniques, by trying to stay in the moment, by focusing on what's good and what you can do rather than what you can't do. Paula Radcliffe during the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon (Adam Davy/PA) 'It's essentially the same metaphor for life; what can you do? If there are things outside of your control, focus on them a bit less, because there's not much you can do [about them] and recognise that it does get better. 'And when you go through down times, either flipping back to previous good times or looking forward to ones that are to come. 'If you're having a bad patch, even just visualising a time where remember the time that felt really good and really in control, think about that,' she suggests. 'I'll just count, over and over, up to 100 – that was my coping technique for grounding me in the here and there, one foot in front of the other.' Advertisement She is now based in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with husband Gary Lough and children Isla and Raphael, leaving the UK after the 2004 Athens Olympics – in which she famously withdrew from the race around the 23-mile mark. The location lends itself to an outdoorsy lifestyle and these days, she would rather run through forests than pound pavements. 'I really appreciate when you're out on a beautiful trail run, [I feel] extremely fortunate to be able to be out there in the beautiful countryside, breathing in clean air that, sadly, not everyone has access to.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paula Radcliffe (@paula_radcliffe) Health Equals says more than 12 million children in the UK are at risk of lifelong health problems due to toxic air, with more than 25,000 schools in areas that breach World Health Organization (WHO) air-quality guidelines. The campaigning coalition say the worst affected are Greater London, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and inner-city Birmingham. The impact on health can include asthma and other lung conditions, as well as an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, say the group, with Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, as well as those of low incomes, more likely to be affected. For Radcliffe, the statistics hit hard. 'I spend a lot of my time trying to encourage people to get outside and kids to walk to school and to be more physically active, because of all the benefits that physical activity can bring. But breathing clean air is a basic right and if they're going to be active in an area that isn't safe for them, it's really scary.' Advertisement Running in heavily polluted areas might even be doing us more harm than good. 'It should be something that's good for you ≠ and it is, if you're exercising in clean air – but [if not] it actually works the other way. You're better off sitting down in a chair doing nothing.' As an asthmatic, she's conscious of the quality of air she's breathing in too. 'My asthma is induced largely by pollen, cigarette smoke is another [trigger] and pollution is a big one. So I became aware of it through my career, travelling to more polluted cities and noticing [the impact] it had on my asthma.' In her 50s, she likes to use running to explore new areas. 'It's a great way to explore new cities, new places when we're on holiday.' But also, 'as a mum of teenagers, there are times when you just want to escape everybody and shut the door on everyone!' And what about that elusive 'runner's high'? 'It's very unique to everybody,' she says, 'It's not like suddenly feeling euphoric. For me, it's more generally content, a little bit more relaxed, everyday things that annoy you, annoy me a little bit less.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paula Radcliffe (@paula_radcliffe) Paula Radcliffe's tips for beginner runners over 50 1. Prioritise good nutrition and sleep – 'Try and eat immediately after running because it helps the body to recover better.' 2. Complement running with strength exercises – 'Everyone just wants to get an outdoor run in, but build a little bit of core exercises, basic planks, foot strength exercises, calf raises.' 3. Remember to stretch before and after. 4. Set goals – 'I really recommend joining a running club or group and once you've got the motivation, work towards completing your local Park Run or doing a half marathon.' To be part of the solution, visit and use the hashtag #MakeHealthEqual.