Testimonials

I don't really have any words to accurately describe the week just gone.
It's was full throttle ski-doos, Banter & belonging from day one.
The reality of it’s impact is finally setting in.
I didn’t want to leave the country,
I didn’t want to leave the lads,
And most importantly I didn’t want this dream experience to end.

I found where I belonged.
I found who I am inside,
I found the me I've locked away for years since leaving the mob,
this was purely down to the lads, the Team leaders & Our guide.

This group of misfits became my family in the space of days.

We are all broken shards of the same mirror, but when together, we reflect back a perfect picture of teamwork, brotherhood loyalty, respect, and camaraderie.

This will week never be forgotten, never be replaced, and never be replicated.

But it's time to come home, and with it bring that old smiling me back too,
the me that hid away fractured & frightened after 2009.

I'm alive, I'm still here and I will be me again.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the TL’s, The Benefactors, The Guides & Hosts involved with Vetrun180, they are the real heroes here, changing lives one Exped at a time.

Tom - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

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

I read a newspaper article back in February 2019 about VetRun180. I looked them up online and submitted an interest form.

I was invited to go on an off-roading expedition to Galicia. The trip changed my whole outlook on life in general, I was in a pretty dark place at the time & the time away with like minded people was exactly what I needed.
I am lucky enough to have an amazing family but other than them I didn’t really have any drive or any goals set.

I am now a Team Leader with the charity and have been on vehicle based off-roading trips across Europe and more recently Snowmobiling in Sweden.

I have gained numerous qualifications through VetRun180 in Off-Road driving, Snowmobiling, First Aid and many more.

The concept of “Adventure Therapy” and the motto of “If It Doesn’t Challenge You It Won’t Change You” quite simply just works.

All expeds are led by injured veterans for the benefit of other injured veterans & it is because of this that relationships are forged.

Being placed out of your comfort zone & everyone having to pull in the same direction to be successful provides an unbelievable sense of belonging.

Being back around veterans who all have something in common, in that they are struggling in one way or another, whether that be physically or with their mental health & by working together to achieve what might seem unachievable to some is inspiring.

I owe the charity & the trustees a massive debt of gratitude, without VetRun180 in my life I would be stuck in a rut, plodding on with no sense of purpose, just going from day to day.

If anyone is out there reading this and thinks that they wouldn’t mind doing what we do and getting involved then, DO NOT HESITATE, complete the contact form on the VetRun180.org website and one of us will be in touch.

It might sound a bit of a cliché however, it could just change your whole perception on things, like it has mine and so many other lads and lasses across the UK.

I served in the Royal Marines from 1977-1999 since leaving all those years ago, I have slowly been struggling with my mental health.

This came to a head in 2022 when I was diagnosed with complex PTSD and anxiety.

A friend who had been on an expedition with Vetrun180 told be how it had helped him, so I applied not thinking they would pick an old ex bootneck. But they did, so off we set for a weeks snowmobiling in Sweden up in the arctic circle.
I have to say the whole expedition has for me been life changing, I can’t lie I found it both physically and mentally challenging, But that’s just what I needed.
But working back in a team environment with everyone watching each other’s backs has been great. It was also great just to talk and listen to people’s stories and issues, without being judged.

I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I feel more positive and less apprehensive about life and ready to start living again.
A massive heart felt thank you to Ross, Joe, Jonny, Phil, Andy, Scott, Matt, Sam and not for getting Thomas.

I will be eternally grateful.

Karl - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

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.

I attended the 22nd-27th Feb exped. When I first arrived at the airport and met everyone it was relaxed and we all clicked. Everything was well planned and stress free, even when we arrived at Sweden.

Every day was different and had its own challenge, I personally enjoyed sleeping in the igloo and will never forget that. Each day the TLs gave us daily and evening briefs and were all over the welfare of the blokes. They constantly made sure we felt ok physically and mentally, they were always available if I had a wobble, needed some reassurance or a hug.

I highly rate this trip and would happily do this again and recommend Vetrun to anyone who needs help. I honestly feel this has helped me clear my head and realise that I am not alone.

Thank you everyone!

Kenny - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

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

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.

Seeing the Vetrun180 charity in operation first hand has being both an honour and inspirational, I am certain there is some things in life I will look at with a different thought process ….

Bringing back many memories of my time serving in the military ,and seeing the group bond and connect as a team has being fabulous to watch
Massive well done to the TL who make this happen keep up the outstanding work KUDOS from me many many thanks

Lee W - 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.

Well that’s the end of a fantastic week! Before I went away with Vetrun180 I was in a really lonely place, I had pushed my family away and the few friends I had left but now I’ve got ten new friends and looking a head to better times, planning things for the future with a bucket list of thing I want to do, all thanks to Vetrun180 and the great bunch of blokes I went with it! It wasn’t easy to ask for help but I didn’t need to, they just helped me with out asking it was like we were all thinking as one group just like it always was in the force’s things a head look bright for me. Thank you Vetrun180, the trustees, the team leaders, everyone behind the scenes making these trips happen.

Kev - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

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

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.