Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page, this is a joint page for our team which are myself, Nick Taylor, Ben Taylor, Jake Steveson, Dave Hutchings and Lawrence Weaver.

We have decided to put our bodies on the line by entering the Tough Mudder event on September the 21st 2013. Tough Mudder is a brutal 12 mile obstacle course and mud run designed by the British Special forces to test your strength, fitness and mental grit! The website is www.toughmudder.co.uk if you would like to see the full run down!

Alongside this we have decided to raise as much money as we can for two Charities, The Wiltshire Air Ambulance and The Scleroderma Society

The Wiltshire Air Ambulance is a charity I hold very close to my heart after they saved my Dad’s life nearly 13 years ago. He was riding his motorbike on the dual carriageway in Chippenham when he was knocked off by a driver who did not look when changing lanes. My special thanks also go to Nick, Ben, Dave and Lawrence who have also agreed to support Jake and I in our chosen charities.

Unbeknown to us at the time he had broken his neck and his life was hanging in the balance but the Air Ambulance were nearby and on the scene very quickly. I have no doubt that their quick response saved his life and they gave us a further 12 years for which I will be eternally grateful.

Dad spent the next 12 years paralyzed from the neck down but his determination and never say die attitude meant that even with his disability he made the most of every single day. He achieved things that were never thought possible and even with numerous injuries, problems and pains he kept a smile on his face and made it his mission to push himself every day. Even with limited mobility and being in constant pain he forced himself to keep active and managed to lose all the weight he put on during the early part of his recovery. He achieve as much as he possibly could, truly proving the power of the human spirit and was an inspiration to a lot of people.

He was without a doubt the strongest person I have ever met in my life but sadly on the 4 of June 2012 he could not hold on any longer and passed away. It’s a real shame that he will not be here to see us complete this event but I will be extremely proud to do it in his memory none the less. If you would like to read some more detail on Dad’s story he has a free web page http://www.gazrobs.freeuk.com.

No amounts of money will ever payback what they did for us nor will I ever be able to thank them enough but this may go some way and may help save someone else’s life. Amazingly such an essential service which saves the lives of so many people relies solely on public donations and they require £1917.00 per day just to keep flying.

I’ve always wanted to do something like this for them but have never really been in a position to do so fitness wise. I give them a little bit each month anyway but it has never felt like enough so now is the perfect opportunity to thank them for the amazing work they do all around Wiltshire.

On a personal note for me it will be an almighty achievement when we complete this event considering on the 14 of October 2011 when I rejoined the gym I was tipping the scales at just over 20 stone as oppose to now where I am just over 12 stone. I could barely manage a few minutes on the treadmill let alone think about an event such as this. Just to be considering it is a huge achievement and will be a fitting end to a lot of sacrifice and hard work.

One thing is for sure we will not fail so the next 8 months will be about training and trying to raise as much sponsorship as possible for the Air Ambulance and The Scleroderma Society which is a charity close to Jake.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you have donated I cannot thank you enough, you are helping an amazing charity that has touched the hearts of many people including mine.

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