Two Heroic British Servicemen Run London Marathon
Petty Officer Paul Wareing and former Private Gary Green will be taking on the 26.2 mile Virgin Money London Marathon this Sunday (26 April) and raising over £2,000 for military charity Tickets For Troops.
Tickets For Troops offers current serving members of HM Armed Forces and those medically discharged since 2001 free tickets to sports, music, theatre, entertainment and cultural events all over the UK which they can share with their loved ones, as a small acknowledgement of the work they do or have done for their country.
Petty Officer Paul Wareing (pictured) who has been serving his country as a Marine Engineer since 2003 will be running the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon for Tickets For Troops.
During his career, Paul has served on HMS Argyll completing deployments off the coast of Iraq and east coast of Somalia.
Paul is also a keen representative for his Unit’s various sports teams including football, swimming, cricket, badminton, cross country and has represented the Royal Navy in Athletics at the Tri-Service competition.
Petty Officer Paul Wareing said: “I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to run the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon in aid of Tickets For Troops. I want to represent all fallen and current serving Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen and women of HM Armed Forces, especially my long lost shipmate and close friend, ET(ME) Lee “Rattler” Morgan who was unfairly taken from us in a road traffic accident 6 years ago”
Regarding his training he said: “The high point was receiving the news I’d be running the marathon, and the fundraising party was a great day/night and a brilliant success. Low points however were training in the cold and wet along with all sorts of niggling injuries and aches and pains along the way.”
Former Private Gary Green was injured in Afghanistan in 2009 by two Improvised Explosive Devices concealed in the side of a compound wall which left him blind in his right eye.
Since leaving the Armed Forces, Gary has found it very difficult to adjust back to a civilian lifestyle and has suffered with severe PTSD.
Gary is currently writing a book about his experiences of the difficulties of war, pre, during and post operation which includes giving lifesaving first aid to an 8 year old child who lost both of his legs in an explosion, insight into his own injuries, the struggles of adjusting to life outside the army and his personal transformation of turning his life around.
Gary is looking forward to running the the Virgin Money London Marathon and said on being offered the place: “I am fit and keen and I would love to run the London marathon for [Tickets For Troops] and add it as one of the positive focuses in my life.”
On the race he said: “I am going to take the run quite steady as I feel it’s more important to focus on the end result rather than trying to sprint through the whole thing.”
Samantha Cameron, Tickets For Troops’ Patron said: “I wish both Paul and Gary the best of luck for the marathon on Sunday. It sounds like their commitment and dedication to their training schedules will certainly give them a head start for their individual challenges they have taken on. As one of Tickets For Troops’ patrons, I am delighted to hear they have raised so much money for the charity which supports deserving servicemen and women across the UK.”
Veronica Bamford, Director of Operations at Tickets For Troops said: “Paul and Gary have taken the marathon in their stride from the start, creating their own training plans and keeping us up to date on their progress. The Tickets For Troops team are very much looking forward to cheering them on this Sunday and are very proud and grateful to them both for all their drive and dedication as well as their incredible fundraising efforts.”
The charity has over 140,000 military members registered and troops have been given access to tickets for many prestigious events including, The London Olympics and Paralympics, The BRIT Awards, the Isle of Wight Festival, Formula One British Grand Prix, the FA Cup and many others.