The heart attack survivor who ran 19 miles to a Tooting pub for a pint of Guinness

A heart attack survivor and runner ran over nineteen miles to a Tooting pub on Boxing Day for a takeaway pint of what he calls the 'best Guinness in London'.

Geoffrey Donohoe, 42, ran from his home in Enfield to The Ramble Inn after seeing that they were open for takeaway pints on Boxing Day.

Following a shock heart attack back in 2016, just a month before his thirty eighth birthday, The Ramble Inn retweeted an interview Geoffrey did with WHO Radio.

"I had never been to Tooting before that," Geoffrey told Nub News.

"I knew that I had to go and thank them for retweeting the interview so I got there as soon as possible."

The visit introduced Geoffrey to The Ramble Inn's landlord Jimmy and what is now Geoffrey's favourite spot for draft Guinness.

Geoffrey said: "The Guiness in The Ramble Inn is the best in London.

"Coronavirus has meant that I haven't been able to go and see the friends i've made there and drink that tasty Guinness.

"That's why I jumped at the opportunity to do both on Boxing Day."

The run clocked in at 19.77 miles and Geoffrey managed the amazing feat in just over two hours.

"The scariest moment of my life."

Geoffrey Donohoe was 37 running the Birmingham Half Marathon when he suffered his heart attack.

Three miles from the end of the race he suddenly felt severe chest pain, stronger than any stitch or pain he'd felt before.

Geoffrey told Nub News: "I finished the last three miles of the race with the pain and luckily for me there were medics at the finish line."

In the hours that followed, Geoffrey was rushed to hospital in Birmingham and told he would have to have two cardiac stents.

"I was burning the candle at both ends and being very naive with my training," Geoffrey continued.

"I wasn't thinking about the junk I was eating and thought that whatever I ate I could just burn off the next day.

"I was also a social smoker and I still do love a pint, all of these things contributed to my clogged arteries."

"It was the scariest moment of my life."

Geoffrey says he owes his ability to run again to Valarie Nangale, a cardiac nurse which helped him get back to full health.

Valarie does lots of work with Irish in Britain and Green Hearts, these combined organisations raise awareness and prevention of cardiac disease and hypertension within the Irish diaspora living in the UK.

Stevie Johnston, owner of WHO Radio based in Enfield, has been close friends with Geoffrey since meeting him at their local pub.

Stevie interviewed Geoffrey about his heart attack back in 2018 and the conversation was retweeted by The Ramble Inn.

Stevie Johnston told Nub News: "Geoffrey is one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.

"It doesn't shock me that he ran that far, he must've just had one hell of a thirst."