Blind veteran completes first half of ultra challenge

Blind veteran Jerry took part in the 100km Jurassic Coast Ultra on 16 May and will face the South Coast Ultra in September. Two ultras, totalling 200km and aiming to raise £2,000 for our charity, which has given him his life back following sight loss.  

Change of plan

Jerry, 63 and from Weymouth, and his guide Anne, who works for our charity but completed this walk alongside Jerry as a volunteer, crossed the finish line in 27 hours. The event did not go completely to plan; the pair ended up stopping overnight in Weymouth after assessing that it would not be safe for them to continue.

The pair set off at 8.30am but paused the challenge at 11.35pm on the first day as they deemed it unsafe to continue. There was a lot of cloud cover making it a particularly dark evening which gave them lots of challenges. Jerry says:

“My eyesight worsens in the dark and the coastal paths were very narrow with lots of foliage and tree roots becoming trip hazards. I’ve walked the path many times but in darkness I lost my way. Anne was finding it hard to get through herself, let alone with me to guide. Stopping and starting again at 7.30am the next day was the safest decision. I think we realised that if we attempted to carry on, we wouldn’t have finished it.”

The experience

As well as the challenge of walking in the darkness, Jerry and Anne also had to face a stretch of the walk that went along the stony Chesil Beach, periods of rain, and numerous hills. Jerry says:

"Walking along Chesil Beach was particularly challenging; walking on stones zapped our legs. During the challenge, we encountered quite a bit of rain which made the terrain slippery underfoot and we found hills where we didn’t know they existed."

Jerry says that the organisation of the event is fantastic and the team behind it ensure that it's accessible for those with sight loss.  He says:

"The food was great and there were always teas and coffees. At the rest stops we would sit and talk to other walkers. I even took along little business cards that linked to my story online which I gave out; when others found out I couldn’t see, they were amazed at how I was completing the challenge.”

Double challenge

In 2025 Jerry joined a team of blind veterans to take on the South Coast Ultra and crossed the 100km finish line in 28 hours and 16 minutes.  He says:

“I found the South Coast Ultra mentally tough and I actually said, ‘never again!’ but here I am and this year, I’m pushing myself twice as hard.”

Anne was Jerry’s guide in 2025 and is joining him again for the two ultra challenges this year.  Jerry says:

“I am so grateful to Anne for her ongoing support. She has enabled me to have the opportunity to take on these challenges, find purpose and build my confidence.” 

Jerry has gone from saying “never again” to taking on not one but two ultra challenges in 2026. He says:

“It was while on an outward-bound trip in the Lake District with Blind Veterans UK that I decided to sign up again and to join my fellow blind veterans for the South Coast Ultra once more. The camaraderie is fantastic and we all support one another to take on the distances we can manage. The training is fantastic for my fitness and for filling my time. I find the empty time, the hardest thing about my sight loss but I now go out walking five days a week. "

Sight loss

Jerry served in the RAF for 13 years and during that time lived in nine different places. Difficulties with his sight surfaced in 1996 when he left the RAF but it was not until 2003 that he was diagnosed with Stargardt disease which is a genetic eye condition. He says:

“Everyone has one blind spot in each eye but with Stargardt disease you have three and mine are growing; I’ve lost my central vision. I also have Charles Bonnet syndrome which means I see things which are not there.” 

 We began to support Jerry in 2024. He says:

“I was in a dark place at times; I was the only blind person I knew but since finding Blind Veterans UK my whole world has changed. Within five months I’d been go-karting, paddle boarding, axe throwing, ascended a climbing wall and been around a velodrome on a tandem bicycle. I have met other blind veterans and my sight loss no longer defines me. "

Jerry hopes to raise awareness of the support offered by our charity and to fundraise so that we can support even more blind veterans. 

You can make a donation to support Jerry and to help him reach his £2,000 fundraising target: