The family of a man who suffered a heart attack during a half-marathon thanks those who saved his life. PhotoCredit@BBC

John Thurkettle, 60, collapsed on October 23 while taking part in the Ipswich Half Marathon. his son James said: "There's no doubt they kept him alive." PhotoCredit@upstract

The 29-year-old told his father, who has run many half-marathons over the years, that the 13.1-mile (21 km) run was "unusual". 

Paramedics Kevin Ward, Ben Solway and David Smith came to his aid and administered CPR until emergency services arrived. 

His son, wife & sister is waiting for John to cross the finish line at Ipswich Town's Portman Road stadium, they didn't know John had collapsed 11 miles away until they receive

John began to breathe and react when paramedics arrived and was taken to Ipswich Hospital after further treatment and care by the emergency services. a

James said how "important" it is for people to get CPR training. Ward said he was "passionate" to educate as many people as possible. 

There are 60,000 cases of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) each year in the UK. When SCA occurs outside of hospital, fewer than 1 in 10 people survive. 

Significant improvement in survival rates with CPR and use of an external defibrillator In some cases, CPR can more than double a person's chances of survival. 

The family of a man who suffered a heart attack during a half-marathon thanks those who saved his life. PhotoCredit@BBC