Close your eyes.....

Did that make it difficult to do something we all take for granted, like read the rest of this post?

Now imagine living your life every day not being able to see. We find that hard to comprehend.And yet, for some people that is a daily reality.

Jamie Weller lost his sight while serving with the Royal Navy many years ago. Since then, he has reinvented himself numerous times to prove that losing his sight doesn’t have to stop him achieving his goals. In fact Jamie’s approach to life has opened up opportunities in the years since that nobody could have imagined.

Opportunities like being the first blind person to pilot a hot air balloon over London. Or helping to establish the first ever Team GB Biathlon targeting qualification for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea. Untimely injuries mean that Jamie won’t be competing in South Korea, but that didn’t stop him being part of the UK team at the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017, coming home with four medals. Only a few short weeks after returning from Canada Jamie was on the road again, this time to Nepal trekking to Everest Base Camp to raise money for Help for Heroes.

Jamie is inspirational. If you want to know more about some of his stories - check out these links:

- Jamie on Armed Forces TV: https://youtu.be/9KTLKeY4XmY

- Jamie on the spirit of challenge: https://youtu.be/05dEhs2K-RU

- Jamie on Notts TV: https://nottstv.com/programme/sports-week-02-08-17/

We have experienced first hand how determined Jamie is when he asked if we would guide him round the 2016 Robin Hood Half Marathon. After a steady early pace Jamies left us trailing in his wake, guided by faster runners to the finish.

As West Bridgford based runners, Chris Walker has known Jamie for a number of years and Ed Binder wants to push himself over the marathon course in under 4hours. We want to make a contribution through our efforts.

Blind Veterans UK (https://www.blindveterans.org.uk) is a wonderful charity that helps people like Jamie. Any support you can give will be hugely appreciated, not just by us but also by all the people that your money will go to help. 

Thank you and please cheer us on next year on 22 April.....we’re going to need all the help we can get even though we can see every one of the approximately 55,000 steps we’ll have to take!