Testimonials

I was very fortunate to get involved with VetRun180 through one of my friends who had been on a couple of trips prior to my involvement. I was very lucky to go to Scotland in 2021 with the charity in one of their adapted hand controlled Land Rovers which was epic!

We drove from the East coast to the West coast over some of the most remote and tough terrain you could imagine.

A couple months later I was asked if I would like to go to Sweden snowmobiling and try a team leader role. I jumped at the opportunity!! Sweden is one of the best countries I have ever visited. The trip was very challenging for myself but the team helped and supported me when I needed it.

I was with a great bunch of like minded individuals, it was awesome to be back operating in a team environment, amazing to be outdoors in the wilderness, the country was beautiful, the guides were fantastic, food was amazing & the accommodation was perfect (hunting lodges).

Its really nice to be able to participate in these types of ”Adventure Therapy" expeditions and challenge yourself, developing new skills and putting yourself in new situations you never thought you’d be in.
I am very grateful to be a part of the team and now I am helping other veterans with changing their lives for the better and enabling them to also have positive views on life.

Thank you VetRun180 for everything you have and are doing for the UK WIS community.

Having left the Marines in the last two years, rehabilitation prior to that, social anxiety, physical inuries coupled with PTSD, I felt very nervous for about two weeks building up to the trip day, when I met the lads it was like being back in the Marines again; the banter was non stop a brilliant team of lads from various in the military and we all bonded straight away.
Matt is a relaxed bloke and that has helped a lot. We have all been through similar things in life. I of course was the best looking in the Team haha, in Summary there has not been a venture like this and I experienced a superb week of laughs, challenges and every person was someone I would stand side by side in a battle zone again.

Sweden has been such an emotional week for me, being back with the lads that understand me and how and why I feel the way I do.

I'm lucky to be here now and needed this get away with VetRun180. This trip away has reset my thoughts and perspective on life, l've made new friends which I look forward to doing more with in the future, it's given me a new purpose in life have set new goals and have new plans to get on with.

I would like to thank the team in Sweden for taking us around the northern part of their beautiful country. I want to thank the vetrun180 team for allowing me to experience this journey and the lads on the ground know how much this has meant and done for me.

Benny - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you!

I was medically discharged from the Royal Marines. At the same time, I experienced a number of life changes and was struggling to envisage what the future would hold. I was lacking both purpose and challenge in my life. I was intrigued when I received an email about Vetrun180. I thought to myself “The concept sounds amazing; I should get involved”.

My first two expeditions were off-road expeditions across Scotland. We travelled through Scotland’s picturesque and often imposing highland estates, wild camping along the way.
The following year I was invited to participate in a snowmobiling expedition. Travelling across the frozen Bothnian sea, witnessing the Aurora Borealis, staying in log cabins and learning about the culture of the area are just a few of the highlights.

After these experiences, I fully bought into the concept of Vetrun180 and I have become a team leader. I believe it’s the simple things that make it work - preparing the food, helping one another, sharing a meal around an open fire and chatting during the evenings in a beautiful remote landscape. This bonding and camaraderie can create an environment that many veterans miss in their lives. They feel they can be more open, discuss things they often don’t, relate to those around them, regain a sense of belonging and a level of comfort they often don’t attain in their day-to-day lives. The benefits of this should never be underestimated.

Being involved with Vetrun180 is something I always look forward to. It has increased my level of self-worth when I’ve felt negative and enabled me to feel useful as an integral part of a team again. I’ve gained a sense of purpose and a renewed belief in the fact that life should be lived. It has been a constant, when things are sadly unpredictable.

The charity, its trustees, my fellow team leaders and beneficiaries have often enabled me to regain my smile when life has been particularly tough.

I found myself waiting in the airport for a bunch of lads who I had never met or spoken to before. Almost instantly, when the team all arrived, it just seemed like everyone fell back into the banter and family like team spirit that is so missing in society that only serving or ex serving members will ever truly understand.

The trip was, by far, something that really was needed for myself personally, having the time away with like-minded individuals who can share their own experiences in an amazing setting was a huge, and much needed, reset for me
I was finding things difficult to adjust in civilian life and I found myself getting distant from things that were important.

The trip really helped myself understand that many others are going through the same as me. By being placed in this team brought back a sense of belonging and togetherness and adventure.
Personally, I ticked off many things that were on my bucket list on the trip.

The Arctic Circle, Snowmobiling through the Swedish Lapland, seeing the Northern Lights to name but a few.

I experienced some of the best memories of my life, with some of the most amazing people that I have had the pleasure of spending time with.
Sharing this trip with the highest calibre of people was simply phenomenal.

l owe a lot to the VetRun180 family, you have supported me and I will forever be grateful for what you stand for and what you help others like myself achieve.
Thank you to all the team leaders as you are not only inspirational but a real credit to the charity.

Finding VetRun180 has been the best thing to happen to me, the challenges I have overcome and the difference I feel and others see within myself is staggering, I never thought myself capable of achieving what I have during the trip.
Sam - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

My trip to Sweden with VetRun180 couldn't have come at a better time. The team were amazing setting it all up and the trip was out of this world. The lads who were on it were top lads and it was good to get back to the military banter and atmosphere. Arctic circle, northern lights, snowmobiling through Sweden, couldn't really ask for anymore! By far the best trip I've been on!
Thank you to vetrun180 for what you do and what you stand for.

The expedition was a great chance to not only vary my physical rehabilitation, but spend some time around other veterans for a while. It was a sort of ‘release valve’ from the mundane day-to-day life of civvy street. It was great to be working as a team again, with lads that I’d only just met days before. And seeing them approach all the problems we encountered with the enthusiasm and positivity that they used to have.

An exceptionally well-planned expedition that really took veterans out of their comfort zones, taking them back to their roots by making them work together as a team. Thoroughly recommended for those needing to reconnect with themselves and start to carve out their future.

VETRUN 180 takes you away from the strains and pressures of the day to day battles of PTSD. You’re among friends that have the same goal and the same desire, to overcome what haunts us each day. VETRUN allows you to speak to likeminded people without the fear of being judged. The expeditions give you a huge sense of achievement. You can once again feel alive and at the end of the journey achieve something that makes you feel proud. The main thing I have taken away from VETRUN 180, I am not alone, I have a new family of friends that understand how I feel and are non-judgmental . The expedition has given me treatment that far exceeds that of any in a clinical environment. I hope to take part again in one of the VETRUN 180 expeditions or to help others get involved in VETRUN 180.