Naval Officers to Run in a Sea of Sand.

These two Junglie Pilots from the Commando Helicopter Force at RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset, have deployed on Operations to both Iraq and Afghanistan where the inhospitable environment is similar to the Sahara.  However, they will leave their helicopters behind as they look to compete over 150 miles of the harsh Sahara Desert … on foot… and running.  The only support will be 9 litres of water for each day of the 6 stage event, which means they must be self-sufficient and carry all their equipment whilst running a marathon each day.  I’m sure you will all acknowledge this is not normal activity for WAFUs!

Explaining the reason for his participation, André who is 36 joked, “I haven’t forgiven James yet for the phone call I received 3 years ago asking if I wanted to take part, but it will give us something to chat about during the event!” 

So why are they doing this race in temperatures up to 50°C across a desert that will cut their feet to shreds?  They are both family men each with 2 young children and will be running for the Children’s Trust, a national charity. 

André added, “The Trust is a tremendous organization that provides care, education and therapy to children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs across the whole UK.  It also provides rehabilitation following acquired brain injury.  Together these children are a much valued part of our community and benefit enormously from the extraordinary support of The Children’s Trust as can be seen on their website at www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk.”

James also 36 explained, “We have both raised money for charity before but this time we wanted to up the stakes whilst completing an event that justifies an ambitious target.  We would like to raise £12,000 which will help The Children’s Trust expand and develop its Brain Injury Community Team.”

To tackle this challenge requires plenty of preparation, bespoke training and equipment.  Kindly one specialist sports clothing company, Linebreak, is already behind the duo.  The two runners would welcome any further sponsorship proposals and can be contacted by email at jimbirjcb@aol.com.  Finally, fund raising has already begun and you can see their progress on Just Giving at www.justgiving.com/DesertMarathon2012, any donation towards their cause will have an enormous effect on the good work of The Children’s Trust.