Hero sets pace in round Britain challenge
WAR hero Mark Ormrod has been notching up the miles on a gruelling 3,000-mile cycle challenge.
Triple amputee Mark left The Citadel on Saturday morning, cheered on by a crowd of well-wishers.
He and the rest of the 'Tour de Forces' team, who are raising cash for four military charities, had already reached Hampshire last night.
Mark was serving with the Royal Marines when he was seriously injured by a Taliban landmine on Christmas Eve 2007.
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He was originally told he would never walk again after losing both legs and his right hand.
But the married dad-of-one cycled an inspirational 25 miles yesterday as part of the relay-style challenge.
He told The Herald how he had been fighting through the pain barrier after also taking on a tough ten-mile stretch on the team's way out of the city on Saturday.
The four-strong team of friends, backed by a support crew, are running and cycling around the entire British coast in relay.
Mark is using a custom-made £2,000 cycle designed so he can propel it by hand – a feat that requires impressive fitness levels.
Speaking to The Herald from the New Forest at the end of Day Two, Mark said: "I am feeling a bit sore, especially in my left arm.
"We've got a long way already though, we're tearing it up a little bit really.
"It's tough going but we're having a good time.
"I did ten miles on Saturday because it was a long day, but then 25 miles today. It was quite hard work.
"I've been building up to this for a long time though, I'm confident we can do it as quickly as we said we would."
The team have set themselves the challenge of completing the epic 3,102-mile route in just 36 days.
Generous guest house owners have offered the fundraisers free beds along part of their anti-clockwise route of the British coastline.
But the team were planning to sleep in Folkestone tonight – possibly in a tent as they were still yet to secure accommodation.
The Tour de Forces challenge is raising money for the Royal Marines Association, the Royal British Legion, the Semper FI Fund and the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association.
It will take in East Anglia, the North East, the whole of Scotland, Merseyside and Wales before heading into Cornwall at the beginning of next month. The final 36-mile leg is due to see the intrepid quartet arrive back in Plymouth on October 6.
To donate, please visit www.tourdeforces.com.
Comments
by blogtodi
Monday, September 03 2012, 8:29PM
“There's that word 'hero' again... It's going to lose its meaning if this carries on.”