Tony Dawson

I said 'never again' four weeks months ago. Then I entered an ultra.

19th April 2026. I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, legs shot, convinced that was it. Done. The distance was ticked, the medal was earned, and I was absolutely certain I'd never do anything that stupid again.

I gave it about four weeks!

The honest version is this: I started running again seriously in 2024. Not for any noble reason, I just needed something to focus on. First goal was a 10k. Then a half marathon, which felt enormous at the time. Then somewhere along the way the marathon crept onto the list, and I told myself that was the ceiling. The furthest a sensible person runs.

Except there was always something sitting quietly at the back of my mind. An ultra!  I don't fully understand why, but when Warrior Challenge Lapland came up, I knew I was going to enter before I'd finished reading the page.

So here we are. 24th January 2027. My first ultra, and I'll be raising every mile of it for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.

I completed a full career in the British Army, so this one isn't just a box to tick. SSAFA are the people who show up for veterans, serving personnel and their families when things get hard and things do get hard, more often than people realise.

That's worth freezing for.

I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what I'm walking into. I've gone from "I'll try a 10k" to "Arctic ultra" in two years, and I'm fairly sure there's a version of me from 2024 that would think current me has completely lost the plot. Maybe he's right.

But if you can spare anything, honestly, anything at all it goes directly to people who need it, supported by an organisation that has been quietly doing the right thing for over 130 years.

Thank you for reading this far. Now please donate so the suffering feels worth it.