Army captain takes on London Marathon to support Erskine Veterans Charity

A decorated Army captain with a desire to serve those who have served, will be running to raise funds for Scotland’s leading Veterans charity Erskine at next year’s London Marathon.

Captain Paul Brown, of the 39 Engineer Regiment based at Kinloss Barracks in Moray, has never run a marathon before – and never intends on doing another again – but wants to complete one while representing those who have put their lives on the line for their country.

Captain Brown, 50, has served since May 1990 and is no stranger to facing challenges head-on having been deployed on Operational Tours during the First Gulf War, the Yugoslavian conflict, the war in Afghanistan, and most recently Iraq.

The London Marathon attracts athletes of all levels from across the globe, but Captain Brown isn’t fazed by the prospect, as he instead focuses his attention on raising much-needed funds for Erskine.

Captain Brown said: “It will be an honour and a privilege to pull on that purple vest and represent Erskine at the London Marathon. Although I am originally from England, I have spent a large part of my career in Scotland and have witnessed first-hand the fantastic work that the charity carries out for Veterans across the country.

“I hope by running the London Marathon for Erskine, I help to raise awareness of the amazing work that they do in the veterans’ community. If we can raise some money along the way, then that would be even better.

“This will be not only my first London Marathon, but my first marathon ever. I am not a regular runner, some people must think I am crazy, but I have spent many years applying to get in and this is the first time I have been successful. I was not going to turn this opportunity down.

“I have already downloaded the London Marathon Beginners Training Plan, and I will be following that for the next 16 weeks to get me started. I have kept a good standard of fitness so here’s hoping that everything goes to plan.”

Erskine, based in Renfrewshire and Edinburgh, has three care homes and a Veterans Village, comprising of 44 cottages, an activities centre, five assisted living apartments and 24 transitional supported apartments – supporting over 1,000 veterans and their families.

They provide round-the-clock specialist care for Veterans aged between 17 and 103 years of age, many of whom have fought in conflicts such as World War II, the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Erskine Chief Executive, Wing Commander Ian Cumming MBE added: “By taking part in the London Marathon for Erskine, Captain Paul Brown and others like him will be helping to provide the high standard of care our Veterans so richly deserve. His efforts are inspiring to all of us, and I wish him well in his training.”

To donate to Captain Paul Brown’s fundraising page, please visit: https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/paul-brown

To find out more about Erskine Veterans Charity’s work please visit our website at www.erskine.org.uk, follow on twitter @ErskineCharity via Facebook www.facebook.com/ErskineVeteransCharity or listen to Erskine Veterans Radio at Erskine.org.uk/radio

To donate directly to Erskine, please visit Erskine.org.uk/donate.

Erskine Veterans Charity is the trading name of Erskine Hospital | Company No. SC174103 | Registered Charity SC006609