Matt Brown, who served with Captain David Seath in 19th Regiment Royal Artillery, had planned to run the 2017 London Marathon in support of The Captain David Seath Memorial Fund. Matt had applied for the London Marathon ballot but, as he describes, his plans changed dramatically:
“I actually applied like many to the London Marathon to retrace Dave’s steps, albeit no doubt in half the pace of the wee man. However, unfortunately those plans were curtailed when I ruptured my cruciate ligament playing football pre-Xmas. Undeterred by the lack of right knee, I decided that I wanted to do something that would still raise some money for Dave’s true cause even if it wasn’t in the same Commando league. My Dad had always wanted to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall, and on recollection of talking Roman military history days with Dave, I thought it befitting to embark upon something that I’m sure he would have been keen to join along with.”
Matt was joined on the challenge by his father, Mike, and his brother, Calum, who set off on Tuesday 18th April 2017. Matt describes his experience:
“Setting off on Tuesday 18th April, with some dry weather (that would luckily stay for the week), the Browns set off from near Carlisle for the first day of walking following the ancient route of Hadrian’s Wall. Taking in a ‘mere’ 22 miles the first day my younger Brother set the pace, a small realisation of my now ageing legs compared to previous charity adventures.
“Into day two and a slight question against my Dad’s route planning as off we went to tackle 20 miles up and over the crags, the toughest part of the walk and certainly a test of the recently fixed up right knee! Staying in basic B&Bs along the way, there were some aching bodies after first challenging days, before contours started to flatten out Eastwards towards Newcastle. We stopped at Roman mile castles, forts and ruins along the way, helping to break up the injuries and pains now coming thick and fast. But a last few miles along the River Tyne of a worthwhile family Brown challenge in the fresh air, whilst gratefully raising over £1200 for the Captain David Seath Memorial Fund.”
We offer our sincere thanks to Matt, Mike and Calum for their incredible fundraising in support of The Captain David Seath Memorial Fund.