A blind Army veteran from Ashton is running one million metres to raise money for the charity which supports him.
Steven Dixon, 42, has decided to complete one hundred 10k runs to raise money for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-service men and women.
Steven started the challenge in January and plans to complete the one hundred 10k runs by June.
He said: “I average about three to four 10ks a week.
“I got into running about two years ago as a way of getting back into fitness.
“The charity really helped with this as I started to go to the fitness weeks available at their training and rehabilitation centre in Brighton.”
Steven joined the Infantry in 1996. He was in the 1st Battalion Kings Regiment, serving in Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Kuwait, before being discharged in 2001.
He lost his sight after leaving the Army when he developed amblyopia in his right eye.
Fortunately, Steven found Blind Veterans UK and started to receive support from the charity in February 2019.
Steven Dixon
He said: “The charity has helped me a lot and it’s great to be able to do something like this as a way of giving back.”
Steven was due to run the Manchester 10k last year, but this was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added: “It was disappointing when the challenge was cancelled, but me and my sister decided to do our own 10k instead and we raised £340 for the charity!
“I’m hoping to do the Brighton half marathon in June, so this challenge has given me something to do in the lead up to it.”
As well as fitness, Steven has been reintroduced to many hobbies since losing his sight with the help of the charity. At the beginning of last year, he went to Canazei in the Italian Dolomites along with 22 other blind veterans as part of the charity’s annual ski trip.
He said: “Unfortunately everything I had booked to go in the last year has been cancelled because of the virus.
“With so many things cancelling, this challenge has been consistent and given me something to focus my time on. So far I have completed 22 of the runs and I’m on track to finish by June.”
If you would like to support Steven as he takes part in this challenge, you can visit his fundraising page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/steven-dixon1069.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Blind Veterans UK has adapted its service to support its 5,000 beneficiaries, 90 per cent of whom are over 70 and thus being advised by the Government to self-isolate.
The National Support Service is helping blind veterans through this period of social isolation.
Images by Nigel Wood
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