The Gumpathon - For injured UK & US Troops.

http://www.thegumpathon.com/



On September 10th 2010, five men from three of the world’s finest fighting forces will attempt to run coast to coast across America to raise funds for injured Servicemen and women on both sides of the Atlantic. The team will run across 16 States, four time zones and complete approximately 20 miles a day each, for eight weeks. One of the team is a triple amputee.

The Gumpathon will raise money for three Service charities. In the UK, Help for Heroes and The Royal Marine Charitable Trust Fund and, in the US, The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund in The States. The team aim to raise £1 million for each of the charities. This is the first time in which US and British forces have united to raise funds for such a cause. This epic challenge is the brainchild of Colour Sergeant Damian Todd, Royal Marines who, after watching the film Forrest Gump in 1994 thought that running across America seemed like an interesting idea. After ten years of thinking about it, Damian found a reason to put his plan into action when a close friend Mark Ormrod was left with serious permanent disability following his tour in Afghanistan. Mark became the first triple amputee of the war in Afghanistan and has recently published a book about his experiences, ‘Man Down’. Mark will be running alongside the team and completing what mileage he can, despite his injuries.