A North West Air Ambulance paramedic is taking on a world record at the London Marathon

A North West Air Ambulance Charity paramedic from Lancashire is set to take on a world record attempt at the London Marathon on the 21st of April.

Caroline, a Senior Paramedic Team Leader at the North West Air Ambulance Charity (NWAA), is not only taking on the 26.2 miles, but she’ll be running while aiming to set a Guinness World Record.

The record she’ll be aiming for is ‘The Fastest Air Ambulance Paramedic to Run a Marathon in a Flight Suit (female)’. The full flight suit requirement includes the flight jacket and trousers, boots and a flight helmet, all of which weighs a total of 4kg.

No one has taken on this challenge before, so in order to set the record, Caroline will have to run the 26.2 miles in under five hours.

Caroline has taken on marathons before, with a personal best of 3 hours and 30 minutes, she said:

“This will be my fourth stand-alone marathon, I have done eleven others, but they have been part of an Ironman triathlon. This is the first I will have ever done in a flight suit with helmet and boots!

“The main challenge for this is going to be the heat from wearing the flight suit, as it is a fire-retardant material, it is heavy and thick, so I will be doing some heat preparation which will involve going into a sauna straight after my training runs in an attempt to adapt to the heat.

“It will also be challenging running in boots rather than trainers, as boots are not made for running. The helmet is also very heavy, hot and uncomfortable for long periods, it also muffles out external noise which impacts your perception of surroundings and adds further challenges to running in the full flight suit.”

Caroline has worked for the lifesaving charity for 13 years and has attended many charity events to help raise awareness and vital funds, as well as taking on several challenges. She’s trekked across the Sahara Desert, cycled from Vietnam to Cambodia and completed a sub-four-hour marathon, raising over £3,000 for the North West Air Ambulance Charity.

She said: “I am attempting a Guinness World Record title for a couple of reasons; I would like to raise as much money as possible for a charity very close to my heart. As I work for this charity, I see the difference first-hand that it can make to our patient’s lives.

“I also want to add another challenging aspect to the marathon by wearing a flight suit. As I have completed marathons previously, I know I can run a marathon, but I have never ran one in my full-flight suit.

“I wear this flight suit daily, I know that it will be a significant challenge to run a full marathon in it, and I’m not entirely sure it will be doable, mainly due to the heat and how uncomfortable both the boots and helmet will be, but I like a challenge and to hold a Guinness World Record if I complete it would be a dream come true!”

You can support and follow North West Air Ambulance paramedic Caroline on her Guinness World Record Marathon journey here.