Reading and Wycombe Unite for 24-Hour CPR Marathon
The rivalry can wait. For 24 hours, Reading and Wycombe Wanderers will be on the same side – fighting to save lives.
Both clubs are backing South Central Ambulance Service’s charity CPR-A-THON, a round-the-clock challenge taking place at their respective grounds in the days leading up to their League One meeting later this month.
On 24 September at 10:00, teams of up to 10 people will begin a relentless relay of chest compressions on CPR manikins, each participant performing 30 compressions before handing over to a teammate. The chain cannot break. The effort runs non-stop through the night, finishing at 10:00 on 25 September.
Just over 24 hours later, at 15:00 on 26 September, the Royals and the Chairboys will walk out at Adams Park. Before that, both clubs want their supporters and local businesses on the front line of a very different kind of challenge.
Each participant is being asked to raise at least £150, with a target of £1,500 for a full team of 10. The money goes to the South Central Ambulance Service charity, but the aim stretches beyond fundraising.
Sarah Callaghan, the charity’s volunteer manager, set out the bigger picture. The event, she said, is designed to “bring communities together” and give ordinary people the confidence to step in when someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Every compression matters. Every turn on the manikin is a rehearsal for a moment that could decide whether a colleague, friend or loved one lives.
From Reading’s side, managing director Neil Peters underlined how easily football’s tribal lines disappear when the stakes are this high. “There may be plenty of rivalry on the pitch,” he said, “but when it comes to saving lives, Reading and Wycombe are firmly on the same team.”
Wycombe are pushing just as hard. Head of media Matt Cecil issued a clear call to action, urging businesses and Chairboys fans to form teams and head to Adams Park to take on a challenge that not only supports a vital local charity, but arms people with skills that could one day keep someone alive.
The match will settle only three points. The CPR-A-THON could decide far more.
