66 Ultra Marathons ● 66 Days ● 66 Cities
On the 16th March 2011 Andy McMenemy will commence his toughest challenge yet, to run 66 ultra marathons in 66 consecutive days from each of the 66 official UK cities. There are 6 in Scotland, 5 in Ireland, 5 in Wales and 50 in England, and by undertaking this feat of epic proportions Andy will challenge the official Guinness World Record which currently rests at 52. Andy is proud to support ABF The Soldiers’ Charity who are celebrating a successful 66 years of delivering outstanding support to British Army personnel and Challenge66 is being dedicated solely to the charity to help raise funds and awareness of their work. Challenge66 will be coming to a city near you so dig deep and make a difference as every little helps.
Here are just two stories of Service personnel that The Soldiers' Charity have helped
Excerpts from The Soldiers Charity website
Captain Kate Philp
Royal Artillery
Kate was commanding a Warrior tank in Afghanistan back in 2008 when it ran over a 50kg bomb.
Kate remembers...
“I was conscious throughout the whole thing – I remember a loud noise, a bit of a funny smell, some smoke.”
Kate was rushed to a field hospital in Helmand and underwent hours of emergency surgery. It seemed like her leg had been saved.
However back in the UK experts from Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham broke the news that her left leg was badly shattered. She had a choice of either keeping her leg, with the risk of not being able to walk again properly, or having it amputated and be fitted with a prosthetic limb.
”For me it was a simple question of function over cosmetics.” “I asked whether with a prosthetic I would be able to run, play tennis and ski. When the reply came “yes” I responded “that’s fine then”.
Today, Kate is still in the Army and hopes one day to return to Afghanistan on active service.
Sergeant Gavin Harvey
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Gavin was in command of a convoy in Afghanistan during Operation Panther’s Claw when his vehicle hit an IED.
As Gavin said... “The thing is IEDs are so frequent in Panther’s Claw. It’s like playing Minesweeper without the numbers.”
“You’ve got no idea where they are. The explosion must have been quick. The blast knocked me out. I remember waking up and I had three teeth missing. I had blood in my mouth and thought I had internal injuries. I spat it out and tried to breath again.”
“I made peace with myself. I talked to myself in my head. The only thing I could think about was: “How’s Kerry going to cope without me being there?”
Gavin did survive but is the most severely wounded soldier to return from Afghanistan and survive. Driver, Craftsman Anthony Lombardi was tragically killed in the attack. Flown back to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, Gavin began to recover and has since received treatment at Headley Court Rehabilitation Centre with physiotherapy, psychiatric support and counselling.