Lt Col Mike McErlain, a trauma spine surgeon in the British Army, with the help of family members, set up the D-day 44 Challenge, a 44 ultra-marathon, in memory of the sacrifices made by soldiers on 6 June 1944.

Mike tragically died of a heart attack in 2013 whilst taking part in the run. At the time he was raising money for BLESMA, a military charity for limbless veterans. Last year his wife Jo relaunched the event and 2019 sees the second year of its running since its reinstatement.

The run, and more importantly the McErlain family, mean a great deal to me as I am lucky enough to have Mike and Jo's eldest son, Paris, in my school boarding house. Lucius, their youngest son, is due to join Sutton in September.

The run starts early in the morning at Pointe Du Hoc and takes in 44 miles of the Normandy coastline, finishing at the historic Pegasus Bridge. Up until this point the longest distance I have run is the London Marathon - 26.1 miles - in 2004. It goes without saying that this is the largest physical, and possibly mental, undertaking I have faced in my life. However, this challenge comes nowhere near what limbless veterans face on a day-to-day basis, having made sacrifices to ensure our freedom and safety and it is therefore an honour to run for such a vital charity and in memory of such an incredible man who, in his time, saved the lives of many.

Training up until this point has been as expected; I would have liked to have done more, but balancing work, family life and training has not been easy. I am running a 32 mile ultra-marathon in the Brecon Beacons at the beginning of May, accompanied by my trusted spaniel, Walter, and this will give me a good indication as to what to expect on 6 June!

BLESMA (https://blesma.org), The Limbless Veterans Charity, is dedicated to assisting serving and ex-Service men and women who have suffered life-changing limb loss or the loss of use of a limb, an eye or loss of sight. BLESMA supports these men and women in their communities throughout the UK and overseas. BLESMA works tirelessly for their Members when the conflicts that have affected their lives are no longer a focal point in the nation’s media. Since 1932, BLESMA has been the only national Service charity that supports limbless veterans for the duration of their lives. Members range from the youngest amputee veterans to those who fought in WWII, some having lived with limb loss for more than half a century. Modern medicine transforms the physical injury, but it is a complicated process to treat the emotional trauma and related lifelong health problems. BLESMA provides a network where Members not only enjoy support from the professional Welfare Team, but where they have the opportunity to engage with others who have similar injuries and backgrounds to themselves, building an important fellowship with each other to overcome everyday battles.