BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a leading cause of sudden cardiac death globally. Early bystander intervention using CPR and an AED significantly improves survival outcomes. This study aimed to assess willingness to perform CPR and use an AED among non-healthcare community participants in a CPR fun run, and to identify influencing factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Melaka, Malaysia, between November 2021 and October 2022, involving 217 randomly selected participants who had previously taken part in the Melaka CPR Fun Run from 2018 to 2020. Data were collected using the validated FIXED questionnaire, covering sociodemographic, knowledge of CPR and AED, training status, perceptions regarding CPR and the use of an AED, attitudes, self-efficacy, subjective norms, and barriers. RESULTS: The mean willingness score to perform CPR and use an AED was 33.14 ± 7.87 out of 40. Only three factors remained significantly associated with willingness: self-efficacy (β = 0.950, p < 0.001), perception (β = 0.569, p < 0.001), and barriers (β = -0.403, p < 0.001). Notably, for the subgroup analysis showed that participants who attended more CPR training sessions had better perception (r = 0.155, p = 0.022) and self-efficacy (r = 0.246, p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Participants demonstrated a high willingness to perform CPR and use an AED. Willingness was significantly influenced by self-efficacy, perception, and perceived barriers. Although CPR training did not directly affect willingness, it showed a weak but significant correlation with improved perception and self-efficacy. These findings highlight the need for interventions that enhance psychological readiness, beyond just increasing training frequency, to strengthen community response in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest situations.