Meet Our Supporters – Jonathan James

Meet Our Supporters – Jonathan James

Jonathan James (JJ) is currently training hard to run the Virtual Edinburgh Marathon this year and raising funds for Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team. 

Scottish Mountain Rescue are delighted that he decided to run for us and asked him a few questions about his reasons behind this fundraising challenge.

Can you tell us a bit more about yourself? 

I am currently studying for my Physiotherapy Masters in Edinburgh.  I’m a keen skier, mountain biker and surfer, so spend most of my spare time in the mountains and is the main reason I moved up to Scotland from Newcastle.

Why did you decide to fundraise for Scottish Mountain Rescue? 

Apart from the personal attachment to MR from my time in the mountains; in 2018 we lost a good friend, James, in a canyoning accident.  The hard work of Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team helped bring him home to his family and friends.  This is something that everyone who knew him is forever thankful for.

Tell us more about the fundraising/ fundraising challenge that you are planning? 

I have wanted to raise some money for Dundonnell MRT for a while and the Edinburgh Marathon seemed like a great platform to raise as much as possible and challenge myself – although James probably would have thought I was nuts!!

What kind of preparation/training are you doing for your fundraising event/challenge? 

I’ve boosted up my training and am running to and from work, whilst I’m in Inverness on placement at the hospital.  I have loved exploring the local hills and mountains with a few good trail runs.

What do you think will be the hardest and most rewarding thing about the fundraising that you are planning? 

I think that for me, the fundraising will, absolutely, be the most difficult part of this; the running will be easy in comparison. I’ve never had to raise this amount of money but it is for such a good cause, I think we can do it!

How can people get involved/support your fundraising? 

I have a JustGiving page where people can donate as much or as little as they can afford; honestly every penny counts! Sharing this page far and wide will help spread the word and means that James is still making the world a better place.  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jonathan-james15

We would like to take this opportunity to thank JJ for, not only fundraising for mountain rescue, but for sharing his story and inspiring us to undertake our own challenge.

If you fancy undertaking a challenge this year, why not drop us an email at fundraising@scottishmountainrescue.org and we’ll be happy to help with ideas.