On 5 September, Mei Pang will be taking on the biggest run of her life – all in support of helping families receive lifesaving care. After her partner, Mark, needed critical care in February 2026 from the East Anglian Air Ambulance crew, Mei was inspired to take on a personal fundraising challenge to support the Cambridge Air Base Appeal.
Mei (31), in Suffolk, will be running an ultramarathon of 101.7km, just over 63 miles – the distance between our two bases at Norwich and Cambridge Airports. She will be running laps around Sutton Heath in Suffolk, with friends and family cheering her on every step of the way.
“You never know when you will need East Anglian Air Ambulance. After my partner’s incident, I started reading and learning more about the charity, even attending one of their base open days three weeks later. It was weird seeing the helicopter close-up, and hearing about the advanced equipment and skills of the crew.”
When patients and their families need us, it’s during the worst moments of their lives. Our specialist doctors, critical care paramedics and pilots respond fast, bringing advanced skills, equipment and medicine directly to the patient’s side, delivering emergency hospital-level treatment and care exactly where and when it’s needed, before somebody has even reached the doors of a hospital emergency department. And it’s all funded by the generosity of people in our communities.
“The open day really got me thinking about what could have been,” Mei adds. “The reality is that somebody, somewhere donated to East Anglian Air Ambulance, which sent the helicopter out for Mark. So, I started thinking differently about what I could do to repay this by sending the helicopter out for another family in need.”
And so, Mei began to plan a fundraiser to support our appeal to raise £8.2m to relocate and build a new Cambridge Air Base, protecting the community and families for years to come. She regularly runs long distances, but on 5 September is aiming to tackle her longest-ever run – 101.7km, the distance between our two bases. Equating to more than two full marathons back-to-back, she adds that it’s out of her comfort zone and will push her more than ever before.
“I initially set my fundraising target as £4,250, the cost of an East Anglian Air Ambulance mission,” Mei explains. “But, thanks to incredible support, I surpassed that figure within the first 72 hours, so the target is now £6,000 – anything beyond that is truly a bonus.”
As Mark continues his recovery, Mei explains that the challenge has provided a focus during a difficult few months and suspects, when she crosses the virtual finish line, that it will be quite an overwhelming feeling.
“I hope I will have a special sense of achievement. It’s not just about the money raised; it’s also about the number of supporters and people backing the cause you really believe in.”
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