00:00Gareth Hopkins was on mile 25 of 26 in this year's London Marathon when he collapsed and went into
00:06cardiac arrest. His heart stopped beating for 16 minutes. Today, six months and six days on
00:13from that awful day for the father of four, Gareth is finally finishing that marathon.
00:27So this term is a sovereign and all those things got me through this. It got me in this, but
00:36also got me out. I have three things to live for. I have family. I always said to them,
00:45I try my hardest to try and get back where I was. Starting at Victoria Embankments on the exact
00:53mark where the 43-year-old paramedic collapsed, he, along with what was meant to initially be
00:5840 family and friends, walked that last mile. In the end, over 200 of Gareth's loved ones
01:05accompanied him to the iconic finishing line in front of Buckingham Palace before being awarded
01:11an official London Marathon medal, which was passed on to Gareth from an unknown donor.
01:16Joining him on the walk were the team at Enhanced Care Services, who first responded to Gareth when
01:21he collapsed, and his rehab team from Northwick Park.
01:41He did it to raise money for Age UK, dedicated to his late grandmother, who he originally ran the
01:47marathon in memory of. A link to donate can be found in the description below. If you want to
01:52donate to Gareth and his family, a link to their fundraiser is also down below.
01:57I want to finish what I started for my name, and also all the people that donated, that I want
02:07to
02:07watch that line.
02:09is that great.
