A ROYAL Engineer captain completed a Remembrance Day run to raise funds and awareness for a UK veteran’s mental health charity.

Capt Marcus Heather of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (RMRE) felt compelled to do what he could to support Combat Stress, a charity which provides mental health support to veterans across the military.

He was inspired after reading that some of its services were reduced due to a shortage in funding.

For over a hundred years, they’ve helped former servicemen and women with mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.

They provide specialist treatment and support for veterans from every service and conflict, focusing on those with complex mental health issues.

Marcus is a serving Army Officer, currently Adjutant of the RMRE is running a marathon around the local area visiting nine memorials in Monmouthshire.

This is part of a series of marathons and ultra-marathons to raise awareness and money for the charity.

The Memorial Marathon is a solo ‘virtual’ marathon, which involved visiting local memorials on Remembrance Sunday on his own to adhere to social distancing measures since this year’s remembrance parades were greatly downscaled and attendance reduced.

Marcus told the Beacon: “Throughout my time in the Army and in my personal life I have worked with some truly amazing people who have struggled with mental health issues.

‘‘I have also seen the sometimes tragic outcome when they fail to get the help they need.”

He added: “The military asks a lot of its people, in the most demanding of circumstances, making the work Combat Stress does to support them vital. I have always found running a great aid to maintaining my own mental health.”

Marcus also hopes to raise awareness for the cause by running in several other long distance events, however due to the coronavirus pandemic, many have been postponed or cancelled.

Last September he took part in the Man v Mountain marathon which involved taking on a challenging Snowdonia course.

To maintain social distancing he had to run it as a solo effort.

He said: “Covid has had a pretty big impact on races - most of the races I originally entered have been postponed or cancelled as a result - Newport marathon, Jersey marathon, Bristol half marathon, Birmingham half marathon - so I’ve had to get a bit creative as a result.

“The Man v Mountain marathon I did was a ‘virtual’ one, but I followed the route of the course in Snowdonia - on my own - and that’s why I decided to run a marathon last weekend on my own!”