Moray Road Runners provide fitting tribute to Jon Ward after his tragic death
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MORAY Road Runners have paid the most fitting of tributes to a friend and former long-distance runner after his untimely death.
Corporal Jon Ward (34), who was based at RAF Lossiemouth, was planning to run the 100-mile-long Moray Way with friend John Anderson (40) on Saturday to raise funds for mental health charity Samaritans.
Tragically, Ward died just days before the run was due to take place.
While mourning his death, around 100 members of Moray Road Runners, joined by Cpl Ward’s friends and family, ran 10-mile stints of the route, while Anderson ran the full 100 miles as planned.
Their efforts have raised more than £13,000 for Samaritans.
Anderson, who owns a pub in Aberdeen, said: “When the news broke of Jon’s death on Wednesday, I had no intention of running whatsoever.
“But a couple of hours later, I got a message from one of the club’s members asking if I had seen how much had been donated.
“Originally we were just hoping to raise a couple of pounds, but the total kept going up and up and I thought if any good can come from this then it will be that we can raise money and awareness for Samaritans as Jon wanted, so I decided to go ahead with the run.
“I read a couple of things about Samaritans and it costs them £5000 a day to operate. If a couple of people get the benefit of this money then that would be great.”
The run on Saturday started at 5am in Lossiemouth, with Anderson coming home in an impressive 21 hours.
The aim was originally to complete the run in fewer than 24 hours.
And the turnout of support was overwhelming.
Anderson added: “You always get that one guy who nobody has a bad word about – that was Jon and you could see the support for him. He was a great guy.
“He was an inspiration to everyone who met him and some of the things he achieved are amazing.
“There was a great turnout at the end and at each milestone.
“Around 100 people took part. We had new runners every 10 or 12 miles.
“The vast majority were from Moray Road Runners, people who have met Jon and have seen what he has done. There were also friends of Jon’s who I didn’t know.
“I have spoken to members of his family and they have all been supportive and I have passed on my condolences to them.
“I would like to thank everyone for the support I got, the people out cheering and throwing me water – it was appreciated.”
Ultra-fit Cpl Ward, who worked in logistics, raised money for the RAF Benevolent Fund throughout his career.
He ran his 100th marathon in 2018 and became the first person to run the entire length of the North East 250 route last year, a full distance of 260 miles.
You can donate to Ward and Anderson’s Moray Way challenge online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jandjmoraywaychallenge.
