A 35 year old car mechanic from Cardigan who suffered heart attack when he was just 28 is now preparing to run in a challenge of a lifetime to help the nation’s heart charity, British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru.

Russell Williams from Ferwig, who works for the AA, suffered a heart attack a few years ago whilst at work in a local garage and is now preparing to take part in the Edinburgh Marathon on 25th May. He completed the half marathon in Cardiff last year and enjoyed the challenge so much that he will be running a full marathon this year.

Russell said “I could not believe I was having a heart attack. I was working at a local garage and felt a pain across my chest which got worse and worse. The ambulance was called for and I could not believe that I was taken in to hospital. I was fit active and healthy and thought this could not be happening to me. I had two stents fitted a few days after being in hospital. My wife, Tracy, at the time was expecting our first child, Lowri, who is now aged five, and she was in hospital at the same time having a scan. As you can imagine it was a difficult time for us all as a family.”

Russell who now works for the AA is living a normal life and wanted to do something for the charity that helped save his life. Russell said “I still can’t believe I suffered a heart attack I was only 29 years old and I have a very healthy lifestyle. It is thanks to the invaluable research by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), that I was able to receive such treatment and make the recovery that I have and that is why I want to give something back to the charity that saved my life.”

Local BHF Fundraising and Volunteer Manager Jayne Lewis said: “It’s great to hear that Russell is doing well after his heart attack and now preparing to run a full marathon to fundraise for us. This is really great news and we wish him all the best in Edinburgh. Nine people will die prematurely every day in Wales from heart and circulatory disease. That is why the work of the BHF is vital and we rely on generous donations of time and money to continue our life-saving work” she added

To sponsor Russell go to http://www.justgiving.com/Russell-Williams6