When every step hurt, I remembered who I was running for

During my 232-mile, non-stop Source2Sea challenge, that question returned hour after hour.

The tiredness became overwhelming. My feet were battered, my muscles were screaming and the lack of sleep reduced everything to the next mile, the next landmark and, eventually, simply the next step. There were moments when stopping would have been the easiest and most understandable decision in the world.

But I knew why I was out there.

I was running for Only A Pavement Away, a charity that helps people facing homelessness, prison leavers, and military veterans rebuild their lives through employment in the hospitality industry. As the charity’s Veterans Ambassador, I am particularly determined to reach former servicemen and women who have fallen into homelessness. These are people who once wore a uniform, belonged to a team and served something greater than themselves, but who, for many different reasons, now find themselves struggling without the security, purpose or support they once knew.

I served for 26 years as a Royal Marines Commando and later took part in expeditions across some of the most hostile environments on Earth. I skied solo and unsupported to the South Pole and was part of the six-man Shackleton Epic expedition, recreating Sir Ernest Shackleton’s extraordinary journey using traditional equipment. Those experiences taught me a great deal about resilience. But resilience is not about being fearless, invincible or unaffected by pain. It is about finding a reason to continue when every part of you wants to stop.

During Source2Sea, my reason was the knowledge that every painful mile could help someone else take an important step forward in their own life. When I felt exhausted, I thought about the veterans sleeping on our streets. When the fatigue narrowed my world to little more than the ground in front of me, I reminded myself that my discomfort was temporary. For too many people facing homelessness, hardship has no obvious finishing line, that is what kept me moving.

The challenge helped raise more than £50,000, but the real prize is what that money and awareness can achieve: giving people a genuine opportunity, restoring their confidence and helping them rediscover the dignity and purpose that meaningful employment can provide.

I am incredibly honoured to have been named a finalist in the Mind Over Miles category at the JustGiving Awards. The recognition may carry my name, but it belongs to everyone who supported the challenge, and to every person Only A Pavement Away is fighting to help.

If my journey encourages more people to support the charity, understand the scale of homelessness and look beyond the circumstances to see the person, then every exhausted step was worth taking.

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Barry “Baz” Gray is a former Royal Marines Commando, polar explorer, Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London and Veterans Ambassador for Only A Pavement Away.

Barry is a finalist in this year’s JustGiving Awards. To vote for him, visit here. Voting closes on Sunday 13th September.

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