Laura Bird tackles 30 half-marathons in 30 days for East Anglian Air Ambulance

Laura Bird, whose life was saved by East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA), is running 30 half marathons in 30 days this month in order to raise money for the vital services it provides.

All of Laura’s runs start and finish in St Ives, outside the taproom – though they won’t all follow the same route – and she did her first on Monday (November 1).

Ahead of the first half marathon, she told the Cambridge Independent that she was feeling a little apprehensive, but noted: “I’m all prepared and ready to go; I’ve just got to get out and do it now...”

Although it is a daunting challenge, Laura says she’s tried similar challenges before. “As much as you obviously need to have some sort of physical fitness, it’s very much a psychological challenge as well,” she said. “As long as I make sure that I keep positive, I’ll be fine. There’s a lot of support from people as well.”

Explaining why she is running for EAAA, Laura, who turns 30 on November 8, said: “When I was 18, I was involved in a pretty severe traffic collision, where I sustained some pretty life-changing injuries – lots of broken bones.

“I broke my femur, broke my hand... and they air-lifted me to Addenbrooke’s on that day, and I’m quite sure that had they not air-lifted me in time I would have almost certainly lost my leg, or my life, so I feel like I owe my very happy and healthy life to East Anglian Air Ambulance.”

In September, Laura joined EAAA pilot Eduardo Prato for some of the way as he ran three marathons in two days from Cambridge to Norwich. Eduardo will repay the favour on November 19.

[Read more: Eduardo Prato of East Anglian Air Ambulance completes marathon challenge]

“The 19th is a Saturday and it’s Superhero Saturday, so I’m going to be wearing a pilot’s flight suit to run in,” said Laura. “Obviously, they are superheroes in my eyes.” To follow Laura and for a link to her JustGiving page, visit runbirdyrun.co.uk/30-for-30/.