South Coast Ultra 2025

On 6 September a team of blind veterans will be challenging themselves to complete the South Coast Ultra. Together they are one team, but each with an individual goal to walk 25km, 57km or 100km.

The group will set off from Eastbourne to walk along the South Downs Way. Those taking on the furthest distance will arrive in Arundel after around 24 hours.

They aim to support each other along the way, raise awareness of the support offered by our charity, and to fundraise so that we are able to support even more blind veterans.

During June and July, the challengers will be staying at our Rustington Centre for a training week ahead of the walk. This will build up their fitness and resilience to ready themselves for the mammoth task ahead of them.

The first of these weeks has already taken place and saw the veterans complete a range of training walks including a series of 10km loops around the market town of Arundel and routes along the South Downs Way to get the group used to the terrain they will be facing. The week gave them confidence for the challenge and information on nutrition and pre and post exercise stretches and exercises.  
 
Meet Team Blind Veterans UK and hear about why they have chosen to take on the challenge: 

Lee

Lee, 49, lost his sight suddenly in his mid-40s following a brain haemorrhage and he is now black blind which means he has no sight at all. He says:

“I went into a coma and woke in hospital a few weeks later; it wasn’t immediately obvious that I’d lost my sight as I was hallucinating and seeing all sorts of things. It was absolutely terrifying. 

“When I realised what had happened, I thought my life was over. I was discharged from hospital a day before the country went into the first Covid lockdown adding to my feeling of loss and isolation.”

Lee began to receive our support later that year. He says:

“Blind Veterans UK has been amazing; the charity has given me back the skills and confidence to face up to my new life and to make the most of every day. I’ve been provided with counselling and technology. Having the charity by my side has made me feel safe.”

In May, Lee marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a fundraising swim taking on 80 lengths of his local pool. Now he is back to take on the South Coast Ultra alongside his fellow blind veterans. He says:

“I attended a training week at the end of June; it was really tough, much harder than I had anticipated. Being black blind, I was finding that I was placing my foot in the middle of stones; my feet were in agony; it was gruelling. I’m going to do the 25k distance as that will be enough of a challenge for me. 

“It will be good to be taking this challenge on as part of a team and being able to encourage each other. I’ll feel extremely proud of myself to complete this one and to have done my bit to again fundraise for the charity that has already helped me so much.”

Jerry

Jerry, 62, is hoping to walk 100k. Before he began to receive our support Jerry thought there were lots of things he wouldn’t be able to do anymore but with the support of our staff and his fellow blind veterans, it is no longer a case of not being able to do something, instead he asks himself ‘How will I do it?’

Jerry served in the RAF for 13 years and during that time lived in nine different places. Problems with his sight surfaced in 1996 when he left the RAF but it wasn’t 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 that are not there.”

We began to support Jerry last year. He says:

“I was in a dark place at times and 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.

“My confidence to try new things has grown. I’ve never walked 100k in one hit but the effort of my other blind veterans motivates me to do it.”

Stuart

Stuart, 51, is hoping to walk 57km. Stuart joined the Army in 1992 at the age of 17 but was discharged due to a medical problem during his first year of service.

Stuart’s sight loss occurred as a result of a brain injury due to a delay in being resuscitated following a respiratory arrest. He spent three years in hospital being rehabilitated. 

During his short time with our charity, Stuart has already embraced many activities as part of his rehabilitation including scuba diving, climbing, abseiling, white water rafting, learning how to cook again, driving a car around Brands Hatch and horse riding. He says:

“I’ve recently been on a training week for the South Coast Ultra and managed to walk 30km in one go. It was tough and after three miles, I thought I wasn’t going to make it but five hours later I was still walking. I’m a stubborn man. I will complete the 57km for Blind Veterans UK, as they have done so much for me, even if I have to crawl over the line on my hands and knees.”

You can read more about Stuart's story.

Richard

Richard, 59, took on the challenge last year and despite the mud making it extremely difficult he completed 57k. He is returning to tackle the same distance again this year. He says:

“I’m not getting any younger; it’s a personal challenge to get out and do these things before old age creeps in. Last year was a lot of fun but the mud took a lot of people by surprise and fighting through the bog zapped a lot of energy. This really isn’t an easy challenge for anyone, let alone those of us with sight loss.”

Richard served with the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards for seven years and it was when he came out of the Army that he first discovered there was a problem with his sight. He went for a routine eye test upon starting a new job and the optician picked up that something was wrong. Richard was diagnosed with the genetic eye condition, macular dystrophy. He says:

“My mum was blind but it was still a shock and I didn’t take it in initially. By the time I was 39, I was registered severely sight impaired. It was a hard learning curve, I had to learn to reach out to people for help.”

It was in 2013 that Richard began to receive our support.

Charlie

Charlie, 48, cannot wait to tackle the South Coast Ultra and hopes to take on the full 100km after a successful training week at our Rustington Centre. He says:

“In the past I have completed the London to Brighton twice with the charity so I’m looking forward to this challenge. I was an infantry soldier, so I’m used to walking!

“I’m looking forward to taking it on alongside my fellow blind veterans, the challenge is not if I can complete it, it’s about getting us all through it as a team.”

Charlie first discovered he was losing his sight in 2010; he was playing a lot of rugby at the time and started to realise he was dropping the ball. He visited the optician and then was sent to the hospital the next day. He was diagnosed with glaucoma. He says:

“After finding out I was losing my sight, I was on the brink of suicide; I even had to tell my mother how I was feeling. Finding out about Blind Veterans UK saved my life without a shadow of a doubt. They stepped in at just the right time. It wasn’t a quick fix; it took around five years for me to find my feet again."

Jill

Blind veteran Jill, 65, took on the challenge last year and completed 25km. She is aiming for the same distance this year but as a personal challenge to herself, hopes to walk in a faster time. The 25km route is certainly not an easy option; it will see Jill climbing the Seven Sisters, a series of chalk cliffs. 

Jill enlisted into the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps in 1979 and served as a nurse for four years.

It was in her 30s that Jill first felt that something wasn’t right with her sight. Jill was later diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa which is a hereditary eye condition. She says:

“I worked as a nurse and, at first, I was able to make my own adaptions to correct my eyesight. I found for example that the corridor lighting was low; I had to start standing by the window to read prescriptions and when making a cup of tea, I wouldn’t attempt to pour myself a full cup. I didn’t think much of these things at first so didn’t mention them to anyone.

“In 2009, I realised I was starting to miss things and make small mistakes at work which scared me and triggered anxiety, I was worried that it would be detrimental to the patients I was caring for.”

Jill started receiving the support of our charity in 2017, She says:

“Blind Veterans UK has helped me a lot with IT and technology which has meant I’ve been able to carry on with using email. I’m also part of their group of veterans who are of working age, and this has been brilliant and helped me to get back to work. I’ve recently completely an internship with the charity which was an amazing experience and saw my confidence flourish.”

In addition, blind veteran Steve, 61, and his son, Ben, are taking part in the South Coast Ultra this year along with two of Ben's work colleagues from Evolve Commercial.