Fundraising veteran Brian Wood kicks off 23rd marathon with visit to Aldershot
A British Army veteran has kicked off his 23rd consecutive marathon with a visit to Aldershot Garrison.
Brian Wood is taking on a gruelling 'Ultimate Sacrifice Challenge' in a bid to raise £250,000 for a military charity – returning to the garrison where he stood years ago as a soldier.
Last year, the former serviceman ran 25 marathons in as many days – but is taking it one step further to remember fallen servicemen and women this year.
Now, he is looking to complete 35 marathons in 35, carrying the names of British lives lost in the Falklands on his shirts, where he's already covered ground, as well as the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Setting off from Aldershot, Mr Wood told Forces News the challenge is about "keeping the 'why' at the forefront of my mind".
"A lot of it's mental, it's mental endurance now," he said.
"The body will just follow my mind and I've just got to keep churning the miles and keep remembering those names on the back of my t-shirt each day."
Each day, he will be running with 26 new names on his shirt – with each mile representing a life lost – and covering more than 917 miles in total.
The additional 0.2 miles over the 35 days is dedicated to the late HM Queen Elizabeth II as a "thank you for her service to our great nation".
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