As you may be aware I have agreed to run just over 52.50 miles (just over 84km in new money) for the Not Forgotten Association in 2014 along with 7 other “volunteers” who are predominantly made up of injured veterans.

Clearly this is not all in one go!! On June 15^th 2014 as part of the 70^th Anniversary D-Day commemorations, I will be running the Normandy Marathon or Le Marathon de la Liberte which is part of Les Courants de la Liberte. Then on 2^nd November 2014 we will be teaming up with a team from the Wounded Warriors and I will be participating in the New York Marathon.

A few facts for you:

• Since the war in Afghanistan began in 2002 there have been 448 British fatalities as at 4^th April 2014
• In respect of the conflict in Afghanistan; since 2006 over 1,700 have been wounded in action, with over 500 of these being very serious or serious injuries, over 5,000 with disease and non battle injuries
• Veterans with disabilities or medical conditions from all conflicts since World War II is in excess of 200,000

The Not Forgotten Association, which is a tri-service charity, was formed in 1920 and acts generally for the benefit of service and ex-service personnel with disabilities or who are wounded (physically and mentally) including the organisation of, or provision of items or facilities for, leisure and recreational activities, travel holidays and outings.

One of the most difficult challenges the NFA face is identifying those who are most vulnerable, who are often lonely, frail and sometimes housebound, and providing them with a range of activities that will appeal to them. As a consequence of recent operations the number of younger serving and ex-servicemen and women who need assistance is growing significantly. At the same time care is taken to include the older veterans too. Needless to say there are many things which appeal to those at either end of the age spectrum; equally, there are some activities that lend themselves better to a particular group. Thus it is extremely important to maintain a varied programme of activities and events that suit everyone, ensuring that no one is forgotten, that everyone has something to look forward.

It must be stressed that with such a small team, the NFA concentrate on the delivery of their activities to those deserving men and women, leaving precious little time for formal fundraising. Consequently, they rely enormously on the generosity of others to fund their annual programme.

http://www.nfassociation.org/.

One of the injured veterans who has benefited enormously from the NFA is Martin Wilson who is one of the “volunteers” who will be running the two marathons with me. Martin, a Colour Sergeant, served 17 years with 2 Para having completed tours of Northern Ireland, Macedonia, Iraq and 3 tours of Afghanistan.   Martin became a Sniper Platoon Commander and after a 72 hour patrol was shot in the head during a contact.   Martin has had to learn to walk, talk, read and write again and is probably the most inspirational man I have ever met.

I thank you for taking the time to read this and I do hope you will sponsor me for this very worthwhile cause for which I hope to raise £5,000.

Many thanks.

Bazza.