16 May 2025
Even after shaking a bucket, baking many sweet treats and encouraging his workplace to support London’s Air Ambulance Charity in 2024, our loyal supporter Tony Hogger hasn’t stopped raising vital funds.
This April, he ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon, and once again did more than we could ever expect in the run up. We spoke to him below to hear about his experiences.
Why did you choose to run London Landmarks Half Marathon?
It all started in lockdown - I was gaining weight with not a great deal to do indoors and my only exercise being to open the fridge! So, I decided to follow the Couch to 5K on the BBC app. Having never ran in my life, I completed the challenge in 12 weeks - I was chuffed with myself. I didn’t want that to be it, so I kept the running up a couple of times a week.
Fast forward five years and I saw an Instagram post pop up for London Landmarks Half Marathon and I thought could I set myself a challenge and signed up. It was New Year’s Day 2025 and the app told me I had 14 weeks to go until the big day and that I should start training!
Why did you choose to fundraise for London’s Air Ambulance Charity?
London’s Air Ambulance Charity has always been our family charity. Mum and Dad always had a monthly direct debit to the charity and I followed suit, so when I saw there were charity places, I approached London’s Air Ambulance Charity and gained a place. At that point I’m not sure if I was pleased or scared!
The realisation set in that I was going to hopefully run 13 miles non-stop, so I researched a training app and set about how I was going to fundraise.
By February I had raised just under £3,000, meaning mission complete and I felt good about myself... I just needed to run this half now!
How did you fundraise for the half marathon?
Firstly, I set up a Monzo account just for my fundraising – yep, I was taking this seriously.
I needed to put what skills I have to good use: I can paint in watercolour so by pulling in a few favours from friends, I set up a painting and prosecco evening. The evening was a success with 12 happy people drinking away and painting in watercolour. It was such a success I did it again, but this time with a view.
I also knew my local Indian restaurant held charity nights, by giving back a percentage of sales as long as 30 people attended. On the night I went there were four charities there and I even went as far to make raffle prizes. I wanted these to be impressive, so people parted with their cash: I made over £200 on the raffle alone that night.
I also decided to scrap posting Christmas cards last year and donated the postage to my fundraiser.
What would you say to someone who was thinking about raising money for London’s Air Ambulance Charity?
It felt so good to raise enough to fund a mission - I may have saved someone’s life. How cool is that! Put your hidden talents to good use and sign up, you won’t regret it.
If you’re thinking about running the half, go for it, it was one of the best days.
What was your favourite part of the challenge?
The big day arrived and the atmosphere was buzzing, the crowds encourage you so much. For me, it was all about soaking up the incredible atmosphere and raising funds for London’s Air Ambulance Charity. I finished in two hours 28 minutes.
We’re so thankful to all of Tony’s incredible efforts. His fundraising is helping ensure we can be there on the worst day of someone’s life. Our medics can provide hope for the patient and their loved ones, but we can only do this with your support. Sign up to fundraise for us today.