Rob Shenton is a 38 years old Chartered Engineer who is a Major in the British Army. He has served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. Being in the military, Rob can't really avoid fitness and although not an elite athlete, he realises the benefits of being fit and strives to keep his fitness at a good level. But this has not been an easy battle. Ten years ago Rob sustained a knee injury which almost stopped him running altogether. But after an operation and two months of rehabilitation, where he changed his running style, Rob started to build up his running ability. This culminated with him completing his first Mountain Marathon in 2006. 

When Rob's dad was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in late 2008 he decided to try and use his running to raise money for charity. He aim was to run a 50 mile Ultra Marathon called the “Thames Trot” followed a few weeks later by a 20 mile cross country run called the “Grizzly”. Despite receiving treatment for an unrelated back injury while training (another 3 weeks in rehabilitation) he completed both. Although Rob does admit it was amusing when he was undergoing treatment as the physio asked how much he ran each week, “about 100 miles” was the reply.

 

Rob is the first to admit that although running is a solitary activity, when training for long distances, it is a team effort, whether it is being picked up at the end of a run or someone to swap a water bottle over. Rob’s girlfriend, Jocelyn, and the rest of his family always seem to get roped into help. Without this support he knows a lot of what he has achieved would not have been possible.