A blind and partially deaf Cumbrian veteran is set to run the length of the UK.
Darren Blanks, 37, of Egremont, is preparing to run over 850 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats starting next week on Friday August 16.
It’s a run that will see Darren run over 30 miles each day for 28 days to achieve his goal – and if he’s successful, he will become the first registered blind person to complete the epic challenge.
He said: “I’ve always been adventurous, what with me joining the military and at school I was always the first one to jump into abseiling or kayaking.
“And I’ve also loved running from a young age, I remember enjoying it at things like school sports days in primary school.
“So I am excited, I love where we live and I want to visit as much of the UK as I can, so I’m looking forward to it.
“I am a bit nervous about keeping moving, but I’m thinking I’ll get into a routine after the first two or three days are ticked off.
“But I’m very keen to get started and do something that nobody has ever done before.”
Darren lost his eyesight suddenly at 23 years old after serving two tours in Iraq in 2005 and 2007. He was discharged from the military as a paratrooper in 2008.
He said: “It was only around two years or two and a half years after leaving the army that things went downhill from there.
“I started having problems with my vision and I ended up going for a brain scan and they found I’d had an acoustic neuroma tumor since the age of 18.”
Darren had the tumour removed in December 2010, but due to the position of the tumour, the operation caused him to lose his hearing in his left ear
It wasn’t until nearly a year later after his vision deteriorated further that he was then diagnosed with Leber’s Optic Neuropathy – a rare hereditary condition that results in vision loss.
He said: “My vision loss is caused by a hereditary condition, and basically my eye nerves are twisted together, so I’ve lost central vision and I’ve got blurry peripheral vision.
“So in the space of five years, I’d done two tours in Iraq and then I lost my vision and part of my hearing.”
While Darren said it was a very difficult period of time – support from his family, friends, and visual impairment charities became key in helping him re-adjust to life.
He said: “I’ve had great support from family, friends, the military and sight loss charities. When I first lost my vision places like Blind Veterans UK and Whitehaven’s Society for the Blind were great at helping me figure out what I needed.
“And every little helps, meeting people who have achieved great things has been great and helped me build the confidence to get back out and run. It’s now been 14 years coming to where I am now.”
Darren’s run across the UK will also see him raise money for the Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Club – a sports club that has had a hugely positive impact on his life.
The club has been operating for over 45 years an gives veterans with visual impairments the chance to enjoy a week of skiing or snowboarding each year.
For many people who are part of the club, skiing forms an important part of their rehabilitation and ongoing wellbeing.
The club is now also being supported by The Armed Forces Para Snowsport Team.
Darren said: “The club’s funding was recently cut and we need to get new head sets to help people ski safely and specialist jackets that say ‘blind skier’ in multiple languages.
“They’re a vital part of skiing safely while blind and the guides need specialist jackets too, so any money we raise will go towards helping people in the club.
“It’s not just for younger people like me either, it’s for people of all ages and the thing that makes us similar is that we’ve all served our country and have all lost our sight in one way or another.
“It’s like that military family again and the people there have achieved fantastic stuff with their vision loss, so it kind of feels like it’s my time now to go and do something.
“We’ve already raised over £2,000 which is fantastic as I haven’t set off yet and we’re hoping to do T-shirts. I hope as I get moving that more people will get involved.”
While Darren has run several marathons and has been part of fundraising before – his run across the UK will be his biggest fundraising challenge yet.
It’s a challenge that Darren has been keen to do for a few years now and as a result, he’s been training for it in advance too.
He said: “As crazy as it sounds, I’ve kind of been training for two years. I’ve had the idea in my head for a long time.
“When Gary McKee did his 110 marathons in 2021 I ran with him then and I ran with Gary when he did the 365, so I’ve learnt a lot from him and I’ve been getting out with him quite a bit.
“I’ve been properly training for about 18 months, but recently I’ve been doing 27 mile, 28 mile, 22 mile days to keep the distance up and slowing down under Gary’s advice.
“It’s more about keeping moving rather than going fast. But because of my vision loss I will always need someone on the ground or bike or running with me.
“On the first three days I’ll have a full team supporting me in Cornwall and my partner Helen will be there for the first 10 days and the last eight.
“Other people from the ski club will come along running with me at times and we’ll have a few different people coming along and stops to make, so it will really see the running community come together.”
Businesses from across the UK are also getting involved and helping Darren by covering some of his meals and hotels and Workington’s New Balance have also provided him with new running trainers, shorts and tops.
Keen runners are welcome to join Darren on the different legs of the run across the UK and more information about his running stretches can be found on Darren’s Facebook Page.
