John has a small team supporting him.
Sitting in the tractor is John Foale himself, of course; former local farmer, tractor engineer, and political raconteur. John does not do email but he can normally be found either, under a tractor covered in oil, or on his usual bar-stool in The Fisherman’s Rest at Aveton Gifford. Despite rumours to the contrary, he’s quite friendly and he’d love to speak to you, about the journey to come, his devotion to the Air Ambulance, as well as the state of the nation.
The guy with the modest red sleeves is Martin Howell, former racing driver and Go Kart business owner, responsible for fundraising. Unfortunately, Martin supports the country of his birth at rugby, Wales, although you wouldn’t get that from his South London accent. He can be reached here: martin@thetractorrun.org.uk.
Next to him is England rugby supporter, Keith Beaumont, former surveyor and rugby referee, responsible for logistics. That’s a pretty vague-sounding job title but, basically, Keith is the route-planner and contact person for the air ambulances en route. Also, if John gets lost or fails to make a waypoint, it’s Keith who’ll be blamed. He’s also the team’s treasurer and can be reached here: keith@thetractorrun.org.uk.
Sitting on the tractor step is acclaimed wildlife artist John Ashton. He’s pretty good at taking photos, too, so not surprisingly he’s the team’s photographer. Like most of the team, he’s a keen Formula 1 fan, although he usually chooses a losing driver in the pub sweepstake. John doesn’t follow rugby or politics.
Propping up the starboard wheel is educationalist, writer and spectacularly unsuccessful yacht racer, Mike Bagley, responsible for publicity and this website. Since he’s an English examiner, if you spot a grammatical or punctuational error, please embarrass him by pointing it out. Of course he supports England rugby. He can be reached here: mike@thetractorrun.org.uk.
There are a few other members of the team not present in the photo. One is Libby Hutchison, not present because she was performing valuable service at the bar. Libs is our Social Media Manager, so she’s in charge of The Tractor Run’s Facebook and Twitter platforms. She can be reached here: https://www.facebook.com/John-Foale-Air-Ambulance-Tractor-Run-John-O-Groats-to-Lands-End-102004757831336/. Also, Alan Brooking makes an exceptional contribution towards fundraising and Louise Wainwright has worked tirelessly in contacting the various air ambulances, as well as producing numerous versions of the brochure.