Page 49 - RADC Bulletin 2018

CHARITY
44 Mile D-Day Run
Lt Col Ewen McColl RADC
Lieutenant Colonel Ewen McColl(RADC) of C Detachment, 243 Field Hospital recently completed the 44 mile D-day challenge run in Normandy. Taking place on 6th June (D-day) the run starts at Pointe du Hoc
and runs across the five beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword and Juno finishing at Pegasus Bridge.
The start at Pointe du Hoc is the location where Colonel Rudder led an elite group of 200 United States rangers up the chalk cliffs using ropes and ladders. After dispatching the German sentries at the top of the cliff, their mission was to find and destroy large battery guns; this action was crucial as these large guns were capable of firing shells several miles out to sea and would therefore have claimed many men’s lives who would be arriving at Utah beach the following morning.
The finish at Pegasus Bridge is an icon of the first few hours of the D-Day invasion. It was here where Horsa gliders, deployed during the night of June 5th, landed 50 metres away from the canal bridge and Airborne soldiers secured the bridge.
The event was all the more significant for Ewen as he had served in the Army with a close personal friend who had died on the run 5 years previously. Ewen had served with Lt Col. Mike McErlain (RAMC) who was an orthopaedic trauma surgeon. Following Mike’s service in Afghanistan he set up the D-Day 44 Challenge to raise funds for service personnel who have lost limbs. Sadly, Mike died while doing the run on 6 June 2013,
but with the blessing of Mike’s widow, Jo,
the event returned in 2018 to raise money for Blesma the Limbless Veterans, Blind Veterans UK and Combat Stress.
Ewen was joined by serving medical colleagues Colonel Tim Lowes, Colonel Paul Parker, Colonel Scott Adams, Colonel David Hinsley, Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Combes (All RAMC), and Major (Ret’d) Caroline Lowes (QARANC). All had served with Mike at some stage of his military career with Airborne Forces.
During the 44 mile run Ewen had the chance to stop at the spot where Mike died and then continued to progress through the field of runners. Many of the runners were serving or ex service personnel including 2 US Marines officers, who had travelled from Louisiana to take part in the event. Ewen, who is a veteran of marathons across the world, was delighted to finish first in the field and receive the McErlain trophy from Mike’s wife.
RADC BULLETIN 2018 47