Soldiers finish 326-mile run in Sunderland to help Veterans in Crisis

Two soldiers took on a huge running feat, clocking up 326 miles in a month, to help support Sunderland’s veterans community.
Soldiers John Dixon and Bobby Robson (R) charity run for Veterans in Crisis founder Ger Fowler.Soldiers John Dixon and Bobby Robson (R) charity run for Veterans in Crisis founder Ger Fowler.
Soldiers John Dixon and Bobby Robson (R) charity run for Veterans in Crisis founder Ger Fowler.

Bobby Robson, 32, and John Dixon, 39, both serve in the Coldstream Guards but juggled their day jobs, including guarding Royal palaces, to fit in a sponsored 10 mile run a day, as well as the London Marathon.

The sergeants took part in the challenge every day in October, either running before or after their shifts at work, including doing 26.2miles on October 4 for the London Marathon.

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On the final day they finished the last 10 miles at the Veterans in Crisis ERV centre in Roker, raising more than £2,000 for the community interest company (CIC) which offers a lifeline of support to Wearside veterans who experience homelessness and addiction problems after leaving the Forces.

Soldiers John Dixon and Bobby Robson (R) charity run for Veterans in Crisis.Soldiers John Dixon and Bobby Robson (R) charity run for Veterans in Crisis.
Soldiers John Dixon and Bobby Robson (R) charity run for Veterans in Crisis.

The money raised is going towards the £11,000 needed for a Crowdfunding campaign to buy a removals van so veterans can be employed to work in the removals business.

So far £5,000 has been raised for the project, including funds donated by The Veterans’ Walk in Mowbray Park, with three weeks left to raise the remaining amount.

Both soldiers are from Sunderland and felt strongly about keeping the money in their home city.

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Bobby, from Hetton, said: “It was John’s idea originally, we were sitting having food one night and he’d just finished raising money for a bone cancer charity and it had given him the bug. He decided to do a challenge of running 10k a day and I said it should be 10miles.

"We already had a place in the London Marathon, so we did that on top. One week I was on Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace and John was at St James’s Palace so we’d get up at 5am, do the 10miles, then do a full day at the palaces. If we were on the ranges, we’d do the run at night. I worked out that we’d done 750,000 steps in a month.”

He added: “Although we have a certain level of fitness for work, it’s completely different running consistently long distance, and we both had niggles and injuries by the end.”

For the final leg, the soldiers were joined by their sons, Bobby’s sons Travis, eight, and Noah, four, and John’s son Joshua.

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Bobby said: “It was an amazing feeling finishing the race, especially with our sons. You see veterans, and serving soldiers, struggling every day, so it’s great to be able to give something back, especially as this will provide employment for veterans.”

Ger Fowler, founder and CEO of Veterans in Crisis, said: “When they contacted me to tell me what they were taking on I thought they were mental. Being a soldier is a physical job, so then to do 10miles a day on top of that is an amazing feat.

"We’re just over half way of the Crowd Funder and we’ve had lots of support so far. We’re really hoping to reach the final amount.”

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