Testimonials

My trip to Sweden with VetRun180 couldn't have come at a better time. The team were amazing setting it all up and the trip was out of this world. The lads who were on it were top lads and it was good to get back to the military banter and atmosphere. Arctic circle, northern lights, snowmobiling through Sweden, couldn't really ask for anymore! By far the best trip I've been on!
Thank you to vetrun180 for what you do and what you stand for.

Vetrun180 are delivering an excellent opportunity for former service personnel from a wide spectrum of conflicts to do something which harps back to their former life in the military. Challenge, team work, living outdoors and having a good laugh. Great trip in good company.

The expedition was a great chance to not only vary my physical rehabilitation, but spend some time around other veterans for a while. It was a sort of ‘release valve’ from the mundane day-to-day life of civvy street. It was great to be working as a team again, with lads that I’d only just met days before. And seeing them approach all the problems we encountered with the enthusiasm and positivity that they used to have.

I first heard of Vetrun180 through the Royal Marines network back in 2018. They were looking for applicants for a trip to Oman and I knew nothing more about it than that.

When my application was successful, I spent 10 days driving jeep wranglers through the rub-al-khali desert with 15 other veterans. I didn't know when I applied how much I needed that time away with the blokes.

After the expedition I approached my normal life with a refreshed mind and a more positive attitude. Since then, I have guided a cold weather expedition in Sweden, and then was invited to be a team leader on two Scotland expeditions, driving off road from East to West Coast.

The opportunity not only to be around the blokes as a beneficiary, but to also give back and lead expeditions, has been eye-opening, humbling, exciting and extremely rewarding all at the same time!

VETRUN 180 takes you away from the strains and pressures of the day to day battles of PTSD. You’re among friends that have the same goal and the same desire, to overcome what haunts us each day. VETRUN allows you to speak to likeminded people without the fear of being judged. The expeditions give you a huge sense of achievement. You can once again feel alive and at the end of the journey achieve something that makes you feel proud. The main thing I have taken away from VETRUN 180, I am not alone, I have a new family of friends that understand how I feel and are non-judgmental . The expedition has given me treatment that far exceeds that of any in a clinical environment. I hope to take part again in one of the VETRUN 180 expeditions or to help others get involved in VETRUN 180.

Throughout the week being in a vehicle for numerous hours and doubling up with people you get to chat about various scenarios and other people’s experiences are similar to yours at times, and lets you share your stories too.
On a whole the trip was very enjoyable, and at times some of the driving was demanding, down to weather conditions being wet, but not too demanding. I personally had a great week away and met some new friends, and since I’ve been back home it’s made me more focused and look at life in a more positive way, with the help of people I’ve met and the experience during the week at Vetrun180.

Took me a little while to calm down and reflect on the trip , still processing the magnitude of information from the experience, certainly has been the most fun , emotional and overwhelming journey experience of my life , spiritually and mentally both on a superficial and on a deeper level that as time goes by the finer details are emerging from the effort that was made by , Ross , mack , Ben , Thomas and the rest of the men and women involved.

I'm finding it hard to put it into words the gratitude I'm feeling right now but I just want you all to know how much this has meant to me and the positive effects it had already had in my outlook towards my attitude and life in general , iv had problems with a lot of things mh , alcohol , anger etc you know the score but I feel purged from it all and happy that the "180" has been for me very effective.

Thank you to the charity for changing lives not only the direct participants but the wider effected also friends family etc

I love you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Drew - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you!

I had such an amazing time taking part in VetRun180's Sweden trip 2023. I can't thank the team enough for all their hard work organising a trip of a lifetime for injured veterans.

It was so nice to back around people with similar stories and experiences people who instantly become like family and that is something only the military can provide a bond like no other I feel rejuvenated and ready for the next step at what ever life brings.

Danny - VetRun180 - Beneficiary

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you!

I have come home with a sense of achievement, totally knackered, but with a clear head and a feeling of belonging. Whilst the driving is challenging, at times hard graft and very enjoyable, it is the evenings, sat around a fire or under an awning chewing the fat with people who get you that also really helps.

I read a newspaper article back in February 2019 about VetRun180. I looked them up online and submitted an interest form.

I was invited to go on an off-roading expedition to Galicia. The trip changed my whole outlook on life in general, I was in a pretty dark place at the time & the time away with like minded people was exactly what I needed.
I am lucky enough to have an amazing family but other than them I didn’t really have any drive or any goals set.

I am now a Team Leader with the charity and have been on vehicle based off-roading trips across Europe and more recently Snowmobiling in Sweden.

I have gained numerous qualifications through VetRun180 in Off-Road driving, Snowmobiling, First Aid and many more.

The concept of “Adventure Therapy” and the motto of “If It Doesn’t Challenge You It Won’t Change You” quite simply just works.

All expeds are led by injured veterans for the benefit of other injured veterans & it is because of this that relationships are forged.

Being placed out of your comfort zone & everyone having to pull in the same direction to be successful provides an unbelievable sense of belonging.

Being back around veterans who all have something in common, in that they are struggling in one way or another, whether that be physically or with their mental health & by working together to achieve what might seem unachievable to some is inspiring.

I owe the charity & the trustees a massive debt of gratitude, without VetRun180 in my life I would be stuck in a rut, plodding on with no sense of purpose, just going from day to day.

If anyone is out there reading this and thinks that they wouldn’t mind doing what we do and getting involved then, DO NOT HESITATE, complete the contact form on the VetRun180.org website and one of us will be in touch.

It might sound a bit of a cliché however, it could just change your whole perception on things, like it has mine and so many other lads and lasses across the UK.