Record-breaking veteran completes midnight marathon supporting bereaved military children
RAF veteran and Cisco Project Manager Mat Poole has set a blistering new record for Scotty’s May Marathon.
The event is a staple challenge for the charity, with participants walking or running 26.2 miles over as many days as each supporter needs. But this year, Mat completed the entirety of the marathon by 4:30am on the 1st of May, less than five hours after it began.
Mat showing his support for Scotty's
Going global
“Cisco has a global veterans’ inclusive community made up of veterans, reservists, military spouses and all sorts of people connected to the military,” explains Mat, who is the UK & Ireland VETS Co-Lead, and served as a communications engineer in the RAF from 1989 to 1999, completing operational tours in the Gulf and Kosovo. “We were looking for a physical challenge for the UK & Ireland VETS as part of Cisco’s first ever ‘VETS Global Give Back Week’, where each country we operate in chooses some fundraising events and completes them for a chosen charity. We’d heard about Scotty’s May Marathon and it seemed like perfect timing; and typical of the VETS, our Give Back Week became a month! It was actually Nikki, Scotty’s founder, who kicked off Cisco’s Give Back week in the UK& Ireland. She came and did a great talk for us, sharing her story and experiences, and as a veteran myself I know that Scotty’s work for bereaved military children is so important. I’m proud that they’re our UKI VETS charity of choice.”
Mat during his time as a Communications Engineer in the RAF
Mat and his team loved the concept of the May Marathon. They mentioned it to the Global VETS team, who decided to introduce the idea as a global challenge as part of the VETS Global Give Back Week, with each country raising money for their own charities.
“We loved the May Marathon idea and brought on board the Pavelka team to support us. Pavelka is one of Cisco’s global wellbeing partners, who suggested we include all kinds of physical activity, including swimming and cycling. They also provided a tracking app that allowed us to bring all of Cisco’s VETS Chapters across the globe together and add a little competitiveness. So there are now people as far away as India and the U.S. using the May Marathon idea to raise money for lots of great causes. In the first day alone, everyone involved had tracked a combined total of almost one million steps!”
Mat Poole
Completing a marathon at midnight
“I’m very active and known for doing some pretty crazy things. I’ve completed the Marathon des Sables, where I spent a week running across the desert, and in four weeks I’m taking part in StreatleyMan, an extreme triathlon. With all that in mind, I felt I had to do something different to increase the challenge and encourage people to donate. Then I had a moment of stupidity or inspiration – call it what you like – where I thought, why not be the first person to complete the May Marathon globally?”
Flash forward to one minute past midnight on May 1st, and Mat began Scotty’s May Marathon.
“Using the formula we created, I completed the equivalent of a half-marathon run on a bicycle, which took around two hours and 15 minutes, then moved on to the second half of the marathon, which I ran. All in all, the entire thing took me to half four in the morning!”
Mat stopping for a photo outside Windsor Castle
Setting a Scotty’s record
Scotty’s May Marathon can be completed over the whole of May, meaning people of all fitness levels can get involved and support bereaved military children. For a seasoned runner like Mat, who is no stranger to extreme challenges, it might sound simple, but even he found himself overcoming some surprising hurdles in his goal of being the fastest person to ever defeat the challenge.
“The cycle route was quite simple. I live in Reading and there’s a flat loop to Windsor, and it seemed appropriate to stop for a photo outside Windsor Castle in my RAF cycling top. That was all great, then for the run I did repetitions of the park near my house. That’s when it got tricky. The mist came down and my chest torch kept bouncing back in my face, and the last 20 minutes or so was a real uphill battle. The reflected light made me very dizzy and I almost fell in the lake. I even came home half a kilometre early and had to go back out to finish it off. When I sat down at my laptop to say I’ve completed the May Marathon and asked people to sponsor me, the laptop screen looked like it was flashing!”
Mat taking part in the Marathon des Sables
Raising funds for bereaved military children
Some fundraisers storm to immediate success, while others can take a while to find their stride. But don’t be discouraged! There are loads of great ways to build your fundraising momentum and raise money for charity.
“24 hours before the event started, I had barely raised anything. I thought to myself, what on earth have I done this for? But that day, donations really started to pick up. By the time I started at one minute past midnight it was at £600. And on the day of finishing it had hit £1300. Cisco match fund every employee’s donation, which is partly why the amount went up so fast, but it also just shows how important the Scotty’s cause is, especially to veterans and people who are part of the military community. Some of the people involved in the U.S. were sponsoring me a hundred dollars. The support was wonderful, and seeing the donations grow made it all worthwhile.”
Mat after completing the Marathon des Sables
How can businesses support Scotty’s?
Businesses are well-equipped to support Scotty’s through financial contributions, fundraisers, and by sharing our mission with their considerable networks – all of which are essential for ensuring Scotty’s can continue to offer the very best support for bereaved military children and young people. Programmes like Cisco’s Global Giving Back Week are great ways of doing this, fostering a sense of purpose among employees and helping raise funds for bereaved British Armed Forces children who need our support.
If your business wants to offer year-round support, why not join Scotty’s Business Heroes Club and become part of a corporate network making a positive impact in the military community?
Mat taking part in the Ironman Swim
About Scotty’s
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a 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.
When a young person joins Scotty’s, they become a member and are supported until their 25th birthday. Whether it be one-to-one bereavement support, a respite break with the family, an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation, or access to extracurricular activities, Scotty’s is always there for its members to ensure they don’t feel alone.
Scotty’s currently supports over 670 children and young people and services are delivered through three Family Programmes, available to all members:
The SMILES Programme is about fun and engagement and includes activities, gifts, respite breaks and group events. The aim is for bereaved military children and young people to form friendships, benefit from peer support, heal with their family and feel part of a supportive community.
The SUPPORT Programme looks after emotional health and wellbeing and includes 1:1 bereavement support.
The STRIDES Programme focuses on education and development needs, removes barriers to learning and helps young people gain confidence that can be lost after a bereavement.
Scotty’s has a long-term goal to be supporting over 1,000 bereaved military children and young people annually by 2030.
