Outrun an Ambulance 2023

Fancy keeping fit and raising money for the The East of England Ambulance Service Charity at the same time? Then this is the challenge for you. 

The East of England Ambulance Service Charity is inviting people to participate in the 2023 Outrun an Ambulance campaign. It's is a virtual challenge to 'outrun' the mileage covered by an East of England Ambulance on an average shift responding to emergencies. You choose the activity and time-frame to suit you or your team. You just need to beat the distance by 1 mile! It's a great opportunity to boost your own health and wellbeing, whilst also raising funds to support the staff, volunteers and local communities of EEAST.

The challenge is designed to suit all people and all abilities. Fundraisers can choose their timeframe, up to a maximum of three months to ‘outrun’ the distance by at least one mile, either individually or as part of a team. If you do not want to run, you can walk, swim, scoot, hand-cycle, or ride anything that is self-propelled!

This year to celebrate the NHS 75th birthday, we have added some additional challenges. Why not outrun the average mileage covered by other resources who provide care to patients across our region, including our lifesaving volunteer Community First Responders (CFRs) or our Cycle Response Unit (CRU). Take on the 75-mile challenge, one mile for each year since the NHS was founded in 1948 or consider the EEAST ultra challenge – 1098miles, the total of all average miles included in the 2023 OAA challenge.

For more information and to set-up a personal fundraising page for the ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ challenge visit our JustGiving page here. 

The ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ campaign was first launched in 2021 by the South Western Ambulance Charity. Last year’s campaign was incredible with six of the regional NHS ambulance charities raising over £28,000 to support their vital work. In 2022, 34 inspirational fundraisers, raised just over £4,500 (including gift aid) to support the East of England Ambulance Service Charity. These funds have gone directly to supporting staff and communities in the east of England.

Funds raised, have been used towards charity initiatives such as;

• Funding drinks and snacks on our Welfare Wagons, which support frontline colleagues, who are out on the road during periods of high demand.
• The replacement of intelligent Public Access Defibrillator (iPAD) electrode AED pads – These defibrillators provide a valuable resource in supporting response times to cardiac arrests in the hard-to-reach areas of our region. To ensure the AED are fit for purpose they are part of an ongoing programme, which replenishes batteries and the electrode pads at set annual intervals.
• Ongoing support to enhance wellbeing gardens and rest rooms for colleagues across our Trust providing a much-needed space for relaxation and respite, during busy shifts.

The East of England Ambulance Charity is one of six regional NHS ambulance charities joining together to deliver the ‘Outrun an Ambulance’ challenge which are the South Western Ambulance Charity, London Ambulance Charity, North West Ambulance Charity, South Central Ambulance Charity and Yorkshire Ambulance Charity.

In 2022, the collaboration was recognised at the NHS Communicate Awards winning the Working in Partnership award, as well as at the Health Business Awards winning the NHS Publicity Campaign award.

For updates and to share experiences of doing the challenge visit the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust Twitter page @EastEnglandAmb and use the hashtag #icanoutrunanambulance

As participants prepare for their challenge, we recommended speaking to their GP first if they have not exercised for some time or have any medical conditions or concerns. For further guidance visit www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise. We also recommend people stick to well-lit areas if exercising outdoors after dark.

 Outrun an Ambulance - Charity, Challenge, Virtual, Run, Swim, Cycle, Walk

Published 25th January 2023