Newark man takes on John O’Groats to London Marathon challenge to fundraise for cardiac screeings in brother’s memory

From John O’Groats to the London Marathon, a man has conquered a huge challenge in memory of his brother.

Olie Sheppard cycled 810 miles from John O'Groats in Scotland, to London, starting on April 17, before running the 26-mile race in the capital on Sunday.

His endeavor raised money for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) in memory of his late brother James Sheppard who died unexpectedly from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome in 2021, aged 30.

Family and friends have formed a fundraising team for the cause, which Olie’s challenge contributed to.

James’ partner, Sophie Turner, spoke on behalf of Olie as he recovered from the challenge.

She said: “They grew up together in Newark, and we want to do as much as we can to stop other local families going through what we did.

“Olie's challenge coincided with the second anniversary of James' death, so it's been really poignant and emotional for us all.”

So far, the group has raised nearly £12,000 — and is close to hitting the £13,500 target. You can support their fundraising at www.justgiving.com/team/jamessheppard.

Olie’s challenge alone has raised £5,226, over 200% of his £2,500 target.

Of the funds, £1,500 will go to CRY's core costs — funding life saving work such as research, awareness raising, screenings, and support for bereaved families.

The remaining £12,000 will fund a whole weekend of free cardiac screenings for 200 young people in Nottinghamshire.

The non-invasive, electrocardiogram screenings will be available for anyone to sign up to for free via the CRY website when the event has been funded and the date confirmed.

Twelve apparently fit and healthy people under 35, like James, die every week in the UK from a young sudden cardiac death, and the fundraising aims to help reduce that number.

Sudden Arrythmic Death Syndrome is when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest but the cause can’t be found — in many cases there are no prior symptoms of a heart defect which can be picked up without testing.

On the team’s Justgiving page, Sophie said: “James had no warning signs whatsoever, but if he had been screened he might still be with us.”

Olie’s challenge wasn’t without it’s difficulties as he faced multiple bumps in the road as he took on the mammoth task.

On his journey to Scotland Olie's van exploded which almost stopped him from getting there, he was hit with strong winds and some challenging weather on his bike ride down the country, and he injured his knee on mile five of the marathon.

Sophie added: “It's been a dramatic week. But despite it all he never gave up, completed his challenge, and has raised enough money that we're incredibly close to hitting our fundraising goal.”