Honiton veteran takes on 70-mile night-time charity run in memory of his brother

This evening (November 12) former soldier Chris Wakeling is completing an 18-hour 70-mile run to raise funds for the Royal British Legion and The Devon Air Ambulance and in memory of his brother.

He is dedicating the run to his late brother, Mark. After returning from the Gulf War, Mark was diagnosed with Gulf War syndrome and he died in 2016.

Chris explains: "Unfortunately, I lost my brother after the Gulf War. He died five years ago, so this is being done in his memory. It's a bit poignant that it's being done on remembrance weekend."

Chris, aged 46, is setting off from Honiton's Bruv's bar at 9pm tonight and he hopes to be back in Honiton to complete the race at approximately 3pm on Saturday. He has been supported and sponsored by Jim Hagan, the owner of Bruv's Bar.

The 70-mile run is equivalent to two and a half marathons, which Chris hopes to complete in under 18 hours. He will be running throughout the night.

The route will take him on a circular run through three local communities: his hometown of Honiton, as well as Dunkeswell and Ottery St. Mary. Chris will complete three laps of this 23.5-mile circuit.

Explaining the reason behind the charity run, Chris explains: "I'd been speaking with Paul Shaw from the British Legion Honiton and he was saying how they'd struggled to raise money during the pandemic, and Devon Air Ambulance said the same."

Tonight's run is part of a wider fundraising venture. Chris has launched a campaign called Community Charity Challenge, which he hopes will raise much- needed funds for important charities through completing extreme challenges.

Chris describes the reason he's come up with the idea of the challenges: "Everyone's just been so nice to us and helpful since we got to Honiton, and we thought it would be nice to do something that really gets everyone involved."

"After we've done this challenge, then I'll be doing more events, and more challenges. But they're all extreme challenges: nothing simple!"

Chris was born in Essex but grew up in Devon, and he went to school in Exeter. After a short stint back in Essex, he then lived in Lustleigh, South Devon. He joined the army as a junior when he was just 15.

Part of the funds raised today will be donated to the British Legion, a charity close to Chris's heart. He served with the Coldstream Guards for 15 years, serving in multiple operations all over the world.

After leaving the army, Chris lived in Spain for 15 years.