Army veteran makes pit stop in Sudbury on ambitious 268-mile run for charity
An Army veteran stopped off in Sudbury en route of an ambitious 268-mile run in aid of charity.
Phil Bartlett has set himself the challenge of running from Colchester to Catterick in 18 days to raise £20,000 for armed forces charity Help for Heroes.
The 59-year-old from County Durham set off on the epic fundraiser on Monday, and arrived in Sudbury on Tuesday where he made a pit stop for the night.
Mr Bartlett is suffering from an injury but is determined to completed the challenge.
“I am recovering from a small tear in my hamstring and have done no training for a while but I’m doing conditioning exercises daily,” he said.
“Despite this I feel excited to be doing this challenge. Whether my body will hold out we will have to wait and see.
“At aged 59 years old this is the biggest challenge I’ve attempted”.
Mr Bartlett joined the Royal Corps of Transport in 1974 and was enlisted as a corporal before leaving the Army in 1991.
He has since raised nearly £80,000 for Help for Heroes.
“When you join the Armed Forces you become a member of a family, you may not know them all but they are still family,” said Mr
Bartlett.
“When members of that family need support you try to do your best to help them.
“I feel that I have an obligation to support them in any way I can”.
A spokeswoman at Help for Heroes said: “We are so grateful to all our fundraisers.
“With seven people a day being medically discharged from the military, Help for Heroes still has a big role to play in supporting our wounded, injured and sick veterans.
“We believe that those who put their lives second deserve a second chance at life.”