On Sunday 7th October, I will be running the Nottingham 50km Ultramarathon in memory of Captain Stephen Healey. For those of you who don't know Steve, he tragically lost his life on May 26th 2012, whilst out on patrol in Helmand province. I first met Steve when I joined Swansea University in 2003 where we played football together for 2 years. Not only was Steve a brilliant football player, he was our team captain and led the boys on and off the field. I can safely speak on behalf of anyone who played with him that he was the most well respected person on any football field - and from reading numerous tributes after his death, it appears it wasn't just on the football field where he was looked up too.

A quick internet search of Steve will bring up some of the most fantastic tributes to his life and illustrates the positive influence he had on everyone who met him. I feel this is emphasised most when discussing his fundraising efforts for Blind Veterans UK. Not only did Steve serve our country, but he managed to do extensive fundraising for this charity in his spare time.

And that's why I am running this race, not just in memory of Steve, but to hopefully, in some small way, continue the amazing work he did.

Any donations will be greatly appreciated - thank you

Tom Hopper