'A Mile Per Man' Run

16 November 2010, 15:48 | Updated: 16 November 2010, 17:16

Five members of staff of the Regional Rehabilitation Unit at RAF Honington have started running 'A Mile Per Man' to commemorate the memory of 344 members of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.

It had originally been 343, but unfortunately another serviceman has been killed in Afghanistan this week.

The five Royal Air Force personnel; Sergeant Chrissy Magee, Corporal Simon Clarke, Corporal Sue Pugh, Corporal Matt Rodder and Corporal Hannah Griffin, will be running on two jogging machines in the Station Gymnasium and started at 11am this morning.  It is the equivalent of them running three marathons and is expected to take up to 25 hours to complete the 343 miles, with two runners running at all times during that period.  After the completion of each mile a photograph of each of the fallen service personnel will be placed on a temporary commemorative wall.

Sergeant Chrissy Magee said: "We were quite keen to participate in a challenging event that would also raise funds for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.  We wanted to do this to commemorate the memory of those men and women who have lost their lives on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001." 

It comes as a Honington based serviceman who was killed during a stopover in Cyrpus has been repatriated at Wooten Basset today.

20-year-old Senior Aircraftman Scott Hughes from North Wales died after being hit by a speedboat on his way back from six months in Afghanistan a week last friday.

The team is hoping to raise funds for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund is the RAF's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to all members of the RAF family. They are there to help serving and former members of the RAF, as well as their partners and dependants, whenever they need us.  They spend about £20 million every year on 7,500 cases on a wide variety of forms of assistance.  Anyone wishing to show their support for servicemen and their families can donate through the event website.