We caught up with David who recently ran the 2023 TCS London Marathon in support of Hounds for Heroes. David has raised over £1,000 so far from his recent London Marathon run! His official time for completing the run was a fabulous 4 hours and 39 minutes!
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born and brought up on the west coast of Scotland, joined the army at 17 and passed out of Sandhurst as a very young 18 year old Second Lieutenant in The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. I spend eight years in the army rising to the rank of Captain before leaving in 1987. During my time in the army I completed three tours of Northern Ireland during the troubles, two years in Cyprus, two years training recruits at the Scottish Infantry Depot near Edinburgh, four months in The Falkland Islands just after the war and eventually ended up in Colchester near where we currently live.
On leaving the army, I worked for The Blue Arrow Group (a large recruitment agency) as a task force manager, my job involved opening and closing branches, hiring and firing staff, training and retraining employees. I opened my own recruitment business in 1989 and along with my wife Louise continued with this until we retired in 2020
I’m now 60 years old and retired, but enjoy both running and cycling. I tend to cycle in the summer and run in the winter and am a member of Great Bentley Running Club and Tendring Cycling Club.
How did you hear about Hounds for Heroes?
Having gained a ballot place in the 2023 London Marathon, I felt that the right thing to do would be find a charity that fitted our way of thinking. We wanted a small charity that had not received any places directly from TCS, I wanted a forces connection and preferably something involving dogs. Louise got on to Google and Hounds for Heroes was one of the charities that came up. Furthermore, you are based in Hampshire and that is where Louise was born and brought up.
What made you decide to run in support of the Charity?
Both Louise and I are keen runners, we both served in the British Army and we have had three rescue dogs over the years, the latest one being Barney the Working Cocker Spaniel. Barney and I compete in canicross events as well as run for fun. Therefore Hounds for Heroes seemed to be a perfect fit for me!
What other running events have you completed?
I have now completed five Marathons although this is not my preferred distance. I do a lot of 10Ks, quite a few half Marathons and some 10 and 15 mile races every year. I run in the North Essex and South Suffolk cross country league for my club, although this is getting tougher as I get older, as well as canicross races with Barney. My greatest running achievement was completing The Cyprus Walkabout in 1982, a 70 mile orienteering event completed over two days, running from Old Paramali on the coast to the top of Mount Troodos on day one then back by a different route on day two.
I also cycle at a reasonable level, completing a number of road races every year. My greatest cycling achievement to date was London to Paris in 2017 for St Helena Hospice based locally.
How long have you been running for?
I started running at school, all through my time in the army up until I was in my 30’s. Then I played a lot of squash for a number of years, then I took up cycling, only taking up running again in 2018
What's next? Have you got any other events lined up?
There are always events in the calendar, with a whole season of running and cycling races to come. I am competing in two Sprint Triathlons with Louise in June (having never done this before it will be an all new experience) this involves a 300m swim, then a 24K bike ride, ending with a 5K run. I hope to compete in Ride London Essex 100 miles in May 2024.
From the whole team at Hounds for Heroes we want to thank David for his tremendous efforts in raising vital funds for the Charity! It truly will help us to continue training and placing our amazing assistance dogs with those of the HM Armed Forces and the Emergency Services who require their help.
You can still donate via David's JustGiving page here.