Ray Edensor is affectionately known throughout the region as ‘the Running Paramedic’.
Born in Stafford in 1958, Ray grew up with his parents, two brothers and sister and originally worked in his father’s fishmongers before finding his true vocation in the Staffordshire Ambulance Service, serving for more than 20 years as a paramedic and on the Air Ambulance in 2000.
He took up running in 1994 after attending a series of bad accidents and the death of a close friend. The loss of his father-in-law Ken following a short battle with cancer inspired Ray to run the London Marathon, after reading that Macmillan nurses were looking for people to raise money for cancer research, resulting in a year-long training programme.
Ray ran his first London Marathon in 1995 raising £1,500 for Macmillan Cancer Nurses. After his first few marathons, Ray decided to run in his paramedic uniform consisting of a green jumpsuit, and a paramedic rucksack with life saving kit weighing 30lb, to get more sponsorship.
He has now run marathons worldwide, and in 2006 ran 26 London Marathons on consecutive days culminating in the official London Marathon in April that year. Ray has also raised over £250,000 on behalf of the Dreams Come True organisation which grants wishes for children with life-limiting illnesses.
Not content with this feat, Ray has also run all the way from the Eiffel Tower to the Blackpool Tower in the aptly named Two Towers run, to augment his fundraising.
In 2008, Ray has been nominated for the title of Britain’s Most Inspiring Fundraiser, a UK-wide contest being held in memory of renowned fundraiser Jane Tomlinson.
Ray has completed training in Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support Courses (PHTLS), and in 2014 was awared the Queen’s Ambulance Medal.