Rob Killingsworth is taking on a series of challenges over the coming year in aid of The Royal Star & Garter Homes. His first challenge will be the Virgin Money London Marathon in April.

We recently met Rob at our Surbiton Home to hear more about his challenges and why he wants to help the Charity. After visiting the Home, he was then going to run approximately 30 miles along the Thames Towpath to Henley-on-Thames, wearing an 18lb backpack which he will train with over the next few months.

Rob has decided to take on a series of challenges in aid of The Royal Star & Garter Homes as he is a veteran himself and has spent nearly 20 years in the British Army. He served in Northern Ireland and then Afghanistan where, towards the end of this tour, he was sent home with health issues. Running is his therapy and he has completed eight ultra marathons (which is anything over a marathon distance) in the past.

When asked why he is running for The Royal Star & Garter Homes, he said: “It’s a good cause and you don’t hear much about the old boys. We are all family. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve served.”

As well as running the marathon, Rob also has another couple of exciting running challenges coming up. He plans to run ‘Endure 24’ in June and ‘12/50 Endure’ in July where competitors have to complete as many laps as possible in 12 hours. The culmination of all this training results in him running the T184 in August. He will aim to run 184 miles in 80 hours, running all the way along the Thames towpath from the Thames Barrier to the source of the Thames in the Cotswolds.

He sees running the Marathon as great training for all of the running events he plans to do this year. He will be easy to spot on TV as he runs the course as he plans to have The Royal Star & Garter Homes’ t-shirt fixed on poles coming out of his backpack which will be easily recognisable.

During Rob’s visit to the Home he was able to meet some of the veterans he would be helping. He said: “We’re all going to get old one day and veterans need a place to go.”

We wish Rob all the best in his Marathon training and are delighted that he is supporting The Royal Star & Garter Homes in this way. We will keep you up-to-date with how his training is going over the next couple of months. For more information and to support Rob, please visit:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobinKillingsworth