Soldiers raise 53K for bereaved military children in Sahara multi-marathon triumph
Earlier this year, WO2 James Bahr, SSgt Alex Homes, Maj Craig McEwen and Capt Dylan Wallace of the Army Air Corps resolved to take on the toughest footrace on Earth – the Marathon des Sables. Over nine gruelling days in the 40-degree heat of the Moroccan Sahara, they ran 250km – the length of six consecutive marathons – to raise funds for bereaved military children’s charity Scotty's Little Soldiers.
Not only that, they also organised an auction at the RAF Club and spent several weekends collecting for Scotty's Little Soldiers outside their local Tesco, shaking buckets, spreading the word about Scotty's and asking members of the public to donate what they could.
In total, they raised an incredible £53,000 for bereaved military children and young people, which they hand delivered to the charity in an equally incredible way – from a Juno HT1 helicopter.
SSgt Alex Homes trekking through the Sahara
Raising £30,000 in one night
“I didn’t expect doing the collection outside Tesco to be as enjoyable as it was,” says James. “I would get there for about eight in the morning and I would leave between six and eight in the evening. I didn’t mind standing there for ten or twelve hours at a time because so many people wanted to ask me about what we were doing and we met some really interesting people. It was good chance to tell people about all the support Scotty’s provide; the emotional support, the Springboard and Strides Programme, the events for all the members.”
In addition to raising funds through old-fashioned collections, James, Craig, Alex and Dylan approached a number of corporations who saw the incredible effort they were putting in and kindly sponsored them and their cause. They then took the step of hosting a hugely successful charity auction at the RAF Club in London, sourcing a vast variety of prizes from football tickets to wine cases, luxury flights and jewellery.
“One of the ways we sourced prizes was just by walking around London, going into shops, talking to managers and owners, telling them about the cause and asking if there’s anything they could donate. We started the auction at six in the evening so people could come after work and put some money behind the bar so everyone who came got a free drink on entry. It all came from the ground up, just talking to as many people as we could, and it was a huge success. We raised £30,000 that night alone!”
Alex and James waving the Scotty's flag
Training for the Marathon des Sables
At the same time they were doing all this, the four were training relentlessly every week to prepare themselves for the upcoming challenge.
“We trained by running three or four times a week for a few months before the Marathon des Sables. Each week culminated on the Sunday, when we would get up at four or five in the morning and go on our longest run of the week, which was between 20 and 30 miles. We were averaging a total of around 70 miles a week – I was going through a new pair of running trainers every month or so! I knew the Marathon Des Sables would be a mental test as much as a physical one, which is why I also did all my runs without any music. Being stuck in your own head for long periods of time like that, especially in such extreme conditions, is something lots of people find really difficult, so I wanted to make sure I could handle it.”
James, Alex, Craig and Dylan at the airport
Boots on the ground
James, Craig, Alex and Dylan’s foresight and preparation paid off, as the Marathon des Sables proved fiercer than even they had expected.
“Not only were we doing multiple marathons in the Sahara, but there was a heatwave at the same time and the temperature was a steady 40 degrees Celsius, which is just ridiculous. That’s the shaded temperature, too, and as you can imagine, there’s not much shade in the Sahara.”
In case the unbelievably intense heat wasn’t enough, competitors also have a limited supply of food and water which they must carry, along with their living equipment, on their back the entire way.
“It’s really important you have enough food and water to fuel you and keep you running, but at the same time you don’t want so much stuff that you’re wasting any unnecessary energy carrying it all. It’s a real balancing act, and after the first three days we started seeing lots of people having to drop out because they had gone through their water supply too quickly and were becoming dehydrated. There was a real technical element that I don’t think everyone was prepared for.”
Alex, Dylan and James crossing the Sahara
Surviving the Sahara
James, Alex, Craig and Dylan all had their own strategies to deal with the overwhelming conditions they found themselves in, with James doing most of his running in the early morning, when the sun was as its lowest, before resting at midday and resuming in the afternoon.
“I absolutely couldn’t have done it without the guys,” he says. “Even when we weren’t running together, we were always looking out for each other. Each of us had a really low moment at some point, and that’s when we massively relied on each other to get through. The exhaustion isn’t just physical, it’s mental.”
After combining their fundraising streams, the four discovered they had raised a huge £53,000 for bereaved military children. However, such an epic challenge deserved an equally epic send-off, and so they got in touch with their military colleagues and secured a Juno HT1 helicopter, which they flew to Ickworth House to present Scotty’s with the cheque they’d worked tirelessly to obtain.
James, Alex and Craig presenting their cheque to Scotty's
Supporting bereaved military children
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a military charity dedicated to supporting children and young people (0 to 25 years) who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.
Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, following the death of her husband Corporal Lee Scott in Afghanistan in 2009, the charity, which was set up in 2010, provides support and guidance to hundreds of bereaved military children and young people throughout their childhood.
Scotty’s currently supports over 600 members and services offered include access to child bereavement support, guidance to parents and carers, personal education and learning assistance (including grants), and fun activities such as holiday respite breaks and group events. These are all designed to remind the children and young people supported by Scotty’s that they are not alone.
If you know a child or young person who has experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces, they could be eligible for specialist bereavement support from Scotty's Little Soldiers. Hundreds of bereaved military children aren’t getting the support they need but we are here to help.
If you know a bereaved military child who could benefit from Scotty’s Little Soldiers support, visit our Get Support page for more information.
