Laura Campbell
Thea's 415mile running challenge in Memory of Captain Stephen Healey
Fundraising for Blind Veterans UK
Story
Sadly my partner Captain Stephen Healey from the 1st Battalion Royal Welsh was killed in Afghanistan on the 26th May 2012. He was the 415th fallen soldier.
In his memory I am running 415 miles by entering marathons / half marathons between October 2012 and October 2013. I chose to complete this challenge right away as Steve was due back from tour in October. The numerous events will keep me busy and will keep me focused to help me through the lonely times without him. I also hope to keep Steve's memory alive and to continue his fantastic work in raising money for Blind Veterans UK as he couldnt wait to come home and plan his next challenge with his commrades. I also hope to bring people together to do something positive as Steve would not have been one to sit and do nothing!
I will be raising money for Blind Veterans UK which was a charity Steve supported and helped to raise money for in the past. The charity helps blind ex-Service men and women lead independent and fulfilling lives by supporting them with expertise, experience and a full range of services. They give veterans much-needed support to adjust to sight loss, overcome the challenges of blindness and enjoy daily life. The charity has been offering physical and emotional support to vision impaired members of our military since 1915.
I am starting my challenge with the London Parks Half marathon on the 7th Oct 2012 and finishing the following year with the Chester marathon on the 6th Oct 2013 as the 1st Battalion is based in Chester. Other marathons include:-
The Royal Parks Half Marathon - 7 October 2012
The Cardiff Half Marathon - 14 October 2012
The Salisbury Half Marathon - 28 October 2012
The Conwy Half Marathon - 18 November 2012
The Bermuda Triangle Challenge - 18 - 20 January 2013 (Consists of a 1 mile run on the Friday a 10km on the Saturday and Full Marathon on the Sunday)
The Brighton Half Marathon - 17 February 2013
The Bath Half Marathon - 3 March 2013
The Rome Marathon - 17 March 2013
The Paris Marathon - 7 April 2013
The Brighton Marathon - 14 April 2013
The Virgin London Marathon - 21 April 2013
The Manchester Marathon - 28th April 2013
The Belfast Marathon - 6 May 2013
The Chester Half Marathon - 12 May 2013
The Wales Marathon - 14 July 2013
North Wales Half Marathon - 4 August 2013
Salisbury 54321 50km Ultra Marathon - 11 August 2013 (31mile run)
The Great North Run - 15 September 2013
The Loch Ness Marathon - 29 September 2013
The Chester Marathon - 6 October 2013
I have also entered a few extra events along the way which I will dedicate to since fallen soldiers and those injured through war.
These include
'Mud Runner - Eastnor Castle, Hertfordshire' 21st October 2012
'Cotswold 113 Middle Distance Triathlon' which consists of a 1.9km swim, 56mile bike ride and 13.1 run on June 16th.
'Adidas Thunder Run - Catton Park, Derbyshire' 27th July 2013
Anyone who wishes to join me on some of the events then please do enter and many of you have already!! :-) The support I am having is fantastic and overwhelming!! Thank you all very much for taking time in reading the above and also a big thank you for all of your donations xxx
To follow my story please visit www.facebook.com/415miles xxx