My name is Dave Coleman, but most of you will know me as "DC" from Civvy 2 Commando.

And on Saturday 26th - Sunday 27th September 2026 I am going to run the GB Ultras "Cheshire ring 100-mile ultra marathon" to raise money for three charities close to my heart:

Here is my story...

I joined the Royal Marines at 16 years old and deployed to Afghanistan with 45 Commando on Operation Herrick 14 when I was 18 years old.

After being on the ground for only a week I was injured in a Grenade blast suffering multiple frag wounds to my legs, arms, body, neck and face.

I had multiple operations to remove all of the frag from my body and after a month in hospital, rejoined my team on the frontline. Unfortunately I contracted a rare flesh-eating disease which rotted holes all over my body, cutting my tour short.

Upon returning home I suffered greatly with mental health but didn't understand what was happening to me. After a suicide attempt at 19 years old I was diagnosed with PTSD, Anxiety & Depression. I believe I have had anxiety for most of my life having spent my life with a stammer, but the depression & PTSD were definitely new.

After losing another close friend to mental health a few years ago, my mind went straight back there and I was in a very dark & dangerous place again. Completely depressed and didn't want to be here anymore.

I was doing therapy at the time and decided I needed something to focus on to help keep the demons at bay and ended up running 43 miles in his name with some friends to raise money for charity. This helped my mental health massively and gave me a target to focus on that benefited others.

Some years on and shortly after the birth of my son, the demons came back, and I found myself in a hospital after trying to overdose. Since then I have gone into recovery and stayed sober for 14 months.

I deal with my mental health every single day.

Some days I am on top of the world, other days I can't get out of bed.

I have thoughts of suicide daily that I push out when they come in.

I know it will be like this for the rest of my life as it has been for the last 15 years.

I want to do this to give myself something to focus on, to go through that physical and mental pain of the challenge to hopefully inspire others that it is okay to be open & honest about your struggles so hopefully they can get the help they need.

But most of all, I want to show my little boy that his Daddy fought & never gave up.

The Charities:

Scotty's Little Soldiers - Scotty's support the children of bereaved service men and women to ensure that they still have things to look forward to despite not having their parent in their life anymore.

When I didn't want to be here, I would have left my son behind without his Daddy and the thought of that absolutely kills me inside.

I want to raise money for Scotty's to support children who's Mummy or Daddy aren't with them anymore.

Rock 2 Recovery - R2R is an armed forces mental health charity that I ran the 43 miler for back in 2021. I have personally had therapy from Rock and could not recommend them enough. I want to raise money and awareness for Rock so another member of the armed forces who needs help can get it.

The Royal Marines Charity - The RM Charity offers lifelong support to the RM family. In the Marines we have 'The Buddy-Buddy System" and there is always a time when someone needs someone. The Royal Marines made me the man I am today & I want to give back to that.

"Once a Royal Marine, ALWAYS a Royal Marine."

My Preparation:

100 miles will be without a doubt the biggest physical challenge of my life and I will be spending the next 11 months preparing for it.

I will be running:

I will be documenting my training & preparation along the way and running through the cold, dark winter nights to prepare.

The Target:

I want to try and raise at least £25,000 so each charity receives £8,333.

My ask to you:

If you can donate, no matter how little, please do.

If you can't donate, but this story and challenge has resonated with you in some way, whether you are struggling with mental health daily, know someone who is, or have lost someone to mental health - please share this gofundme page and encourage others to donate.

Every penny counts to make it to the target.

I am going to give this my everything, so if you can, please donate.

Thank you,

DC.