Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker has praised the paramedics that helped him after he collapsed at the London Marathon.
Walker took part in the 26.2 mile race on 21 April to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK, however he admitted in a post on Instagram that he collapsed and fell unconscious less than two miles from the finish line.
He explained that he had suffered hyperthermic shock and that his body temperature was “42C and rising”.
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“Truth be told, I didn’t train enough and pushed way too hard on the day – probably a little bit of Everest arrogance,” he wrote.
The frozen food retailer boss referred to a challenge that he undertook last May to climb Mount Everest in a bid to raise £1m for The National Brain Appeal to build the world’s first rare dementia support centre.
In the social media post, Walker continued: “I came to about half an hour later surrounded by an amazing team of medics, covered in ice with all sorts of things stuck in me.
“I can’t thank them enough – they were the true heroes of the day and I owe them my life,” he added, mentioning the St John Ambulance service workers.
Last week, Iceland replaced the word ‘mums’ from its iconic slogan in favour of a more gender-inclusive strapline in a bid to reflect “its growing customer base”.
The supermarket chain has adopted the new catchphrase, “That’s why we go to Iceland”, replacing the original “That’s why mums go to Iceland”.
