I'm an army veteran embarking on a mission to raise funds and awareness of various charities which support military and blue light veterans in the Scottish Borders.

I am living with traumatic memories of the frontline but am gradually rebuilding my life in civvy street with help from a veterans charity in Hawick.

My mission is to conquer the three peaks of the Eildon Hills on Saturday June 29th, which will be no easy task in itself, but I will also be carrying an 80lb pack! The run is around 15 miles all told but taking into account the heavy pack and uneven terrain, and the fact that I won’t be training for the event or recceing the route, makes it a pretty daunting trial to say the least.

When you’re on operations you can’t predict what’s going to happen, you just have to use all of the skills you have built up in training, so I just want to get up on the morning of the walk and go for it.

I was in the military for 23 years - regular and reserves - and being posted for operations in Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falklands, some for two or three tours, the rolling Eildon Hills will hopefully be like a walk in the park!

I did think about a free fall plane jump or abseiling from a building or other structure, but this just seemed a bit more of a challenge. I want to raise as much money as I can for everyone who has been so supportive in the last few months.