Veterans and service personnel embark on triathlon challenge

Veteran Paul Wilson from Salisbury is one of the participants taking part in Enduroman Arch to Arc challenge, which started today. 

The 31-year-old, who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. He now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Paul was given the honour of setting his team off from Marble Ach on Friday afternoon.

He said: “Training for this event has been really hard but we have all stuck together as a team. It feels like we are all part of a massive family, which is a feeling you miss when you transition out of the Army.

“To do something challenging together fills a void and the sense of achievement we are going to get from completing a triathlon which is known as the hardest one in the world will be incredible.”

It started at London’s Marble Arch, and teams will be running 87 miles to Dover, swimming the English Channel and then cycling 181 miles to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

The challenge has never been attempted by a disabled team before and the 24 participants have been hard at work training for the past nine months. There are four Help for Heroes teams - an elite team, an all-female team, and two grassroots teams.

Martin Colclough, the head of sports recovery at Help for Heroes, said: “Help for Heroes has always understood the important role sport plays in someone’s recovery, including the many physical and psychological benefits.

“The charity has been involved in triathlon from a grassroots to performance level for over four years. The Arch to Arc challenge provides a fantastic opportunity for wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans to use this exciting sport as part of their recovery journey and is a chance for individuals to have an experience that is life-enhancing, and for some people even life-changing.”

To follow the team throughout the challenge, go to helpforheroes.org.uk