Mum to run 62 miles in late husband's memory

Craig Buchan
BBC News, South East
Jojo Clark A man with short, dark hair and wearing a grey hoodie smiles while posing for a close-up selfie with his wife, with long dark hair and glasses. His daughter, with brown hair, and his son, with short hair and a navy blue jacket, are also smiling in the image.Jojo Clark
Matthew Clark (left) died in 2023 after going into cardiac arrest

A Guildford mother-of-two has spoken of the "rollercoaster" two years since her husband died as she prepares to run an ultramarathon in his memory.

Jojo Clark is raising money for the British Heart Foundation on the 62 mile (100km) run between London and Brighton in May.

She wants to raise awareness of the heart disease prevention charity after her husband, Matthew Clark, died following an unexpected cardiac arrest in January 2023.

Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey with her two children in the studio alongside her, Ms Clark said Matthew fell ill "with no previous warnings".

It was a Sunday afternoon at home when he complained of indigestion. Minutes later, he went into cardiac arrest.

Ms Clark administered CPR until an ambulance arrived 11 minutes after dialling 999, but her husband passed away a couple of hours later in hospital.

"You are thrown into a situation you don't want to be in. You don't have a choice," she said, adding that her priorities "always will be" her two children.

She said: "If you want to see a spectrum of emotions just please spend a day with us.

"It's joy, it's happiness, it's sadness, anger, frustration, but we are together, we are a team and we try."

Jojo Clark A woman with short brown hair and a bright pink jumper sits on a grey sofa with a framed, abstract painting on the wall behind her. Her young son sits to the left of her wearing a grey Minecraft t-shirt and her daughter is on the right wearing a light pink top and an unzipped, dark-coloured hoodie.Jojo Clark
Jojo Clark (centre) said her two children "always will be" her priority

Ms Clark, who has already raised more than £900, began running in preparation for a marathon, which she completed in 2024 in aid of a local bereavement charity.

The 39-year-old has also completed a running challenge to raise funds for her children's school, but this will be her first ultramarathon.

The physical and mental health benefits of running are "much needed when you are going through so much", she said.

Ms Clark chose to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation as it is "not said enough" how much good it does.

"Everyone could probably find something" in the charity's work that they relate to, she added.

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