Royal Marine veteran swaps front line for finishing line to run London Marathon

A former Royal Marine Commando from Surrey will be running the Virgin Money London Marathon in aid of Combat Stress, the UK’s leading veterans’ mental health charity.

On 23 April, Steve Mansfield will run 26.2 miles in the Virgin Money London Marathon, one of the three fundraising events he is taking part in to raise money for Combat Stress. Steve completed his first fundraising event for the charity, the Royal Parks Half Marathon last October, finishing in under one and a half hours. In July he will take part in the final event, the UK IRONMAN, a long distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle and a 26.2 mile run.

Steve said;

“After serving in the Royal Marine’s for six years, I’ve seen first-hand the affect this can have on people’s lives. PSTD is very much a hidden mental illness and this can be overlooked, hence why I chose to raise awareness for Combat Stress through these three challenges.

“I completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon in under one and a half hours and am hopeful I can complete the London Marathon in three hours. I am aiming to raise £1,500 for Combat Stress, the charity is a brilliant organisation and they deserve every penny I can raise.”

Robert Marsh, Director Income Generation at Combat Stress said;

“On behalf of everyone at Combat Stress I would like to wish Steve the best of luck for both of his incredible challenges.

“Without amazing fundraisers like Steve, we wouldn’t be able to provide free support and treatment to veterans with mental health problems. We continue to see an increase in demand for our mental health services for veterans, it’s vital that we raise awareness and funds for the charity to ensure we can continue to support veterans that need our help.”

Combat Stress is proud to be part of the Heads Together campaign, as a member of CONTACT, the military mental health coalition. Heads Together, which brings together eight leading mental health charities and three Founding Partners, to try and change the conversation on mental health, is the Charity of the Year for this year’s London Marathon.

To sponsor Steve in his challenge please visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Stephen-mansfield3