My name is Adam Coatsworth, I’m running the event on behalf of Cakes 4 Casualties, a charity built around one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I met Kath Ryan in a Rehabilitation Centre after having my leg amputated following an accident, and subsequently many times since in various hospitals and medical centres. She travels the country visiting injured service men and women in various MOD establishments, and because she visits trauma wards in hospitals and also the rehab centres, she is able to follow people through their journeys and forges very strong bonds and friendships. Personally, she has caught me at real low points during the two years from having an amputation to leaving the forces, and her warmth and the lift she gives people cannot be done justice in words.

I’m a 29 year old former Royal Marines Commando, I live in the Peak District and I’m a full time dad to my six month old daughter. I had a climbing accident which left me with a complicated injury, the result of which was a below knee amputation of my right leg. Things did not go well in my recovery and I had two very difficult years being able to walk again. When I agreed to run the marathon for Cakes 4 Casualties I hadn’t been able to run for Four years, in fact the longest I’d run was the length of the physiotherapy room. It has been hard training for the event, as I’m starting my running from scratch, I also need to build up the tolerance and toughness of my stump, meaning that sometimes I can only run once a week because of cuts or soreness. Add into that trying to find babysitters and the ice and hills of a wintery Derbyshire and running at all is no mean feat!! I’m certain that I will finish the marathon, I will find it extremely difficult and I will probably be on crutches for a week afterwards, but I owe Cakes 4 Casualties for helping me when I was at my lowest, so it’s a small thing for me to be able to do to help them carry on helping others.

I hope you can find a way to share the story of this charity, I really believe the work they do is invaluable.

Sincerely
Adam=