A former Scottish soldier, who once faced execution and was blown up by a landmine, has taken on one of the worlds toughest ultra-marathons.
Chris Moon MBE, from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, recently finished the 500-mile Camino de Santiago, or Pilgrim’s Trail, along the remote plains of France and Spain. Not only did Chris, 62, complete the trek solo, but smashed a World Record, taking on the trek as the first double amputee.
However, Chris is no stranger to gruelling tasks, having negotiated his own release when Khmer Rouge guerrillas took him hostage in Cambodia whilst on a United Nations mission in 1993, where he was constantly threatened with execution.
And in 1995, Chris lost his lower right arm and leg, after he had left the army and was helping to clear up landmines in Mozambique.
While the trek usually takes 40-days, Chris was determined to finish in just 14, saying: “I started with a tough first day walking 20km uphill over the Pyrenees, a torrential downpour, and an altercation with some wild boars.”
He said: “I have been written off for dead five or six times, and I’ve done things, I was told, would be totally impossible for someone like me to do. After being blown up I did my first marathon less than a year after leaving hospital, having lost my right arm and leg.
“When I was blown up, I remembered that the only thing that kept me alive with the Khmer Rouge was choosing to believe that we had hope.
“I looked at my injuries and, a split second later, I knew that I had to make myself believe that I would live,” said Chris, who was made an MBE for services to the HALO Trust clearing anti-personnel landmines. “Now I wake up every day and decide to focus on what is possible rather than what is impossible.”
Chris has spent 20-years trialling advances in prosthetic technology by putting them to the ultimate test of endurance at events including Marathon De Sables, billed as the toughest foot race on earth and the Bad Water Death Valley Ultra ‘Fun’ Run.
The 135-mile race is the hottest place in the world at the hottest time of the year, Chris but has finished it an incredible six times already.
Chris decided that he would take on the 500-mile Camino de Santiago to raise funds for Help for Heroes. Chris ran unsupported and carried all his own kit but had a tracker in case of emergencies.
He said: “This has been on my bucket list for some time and the artificial limb technology has improved amazingly since I became an amputee. I’m doing this to challenge the concept of limitation and support the vital work that Help for Heroes does to support veterans and their families. The mental and physical challenges that veterans face are amplified by age.”
He added: “I am very thankful for what I have and what I can do. I choose to be thankful for my left arm and leg. I choose to be thankful that I’ve had the shrapnel dug out of my body, and I can now sleep without being woken up when it starts to dig in. If I ever get phantom pain, I am thankful that I will get through it. Life is truly a gift that we take for granted.”
To donate visit Chris Moon’s fundraiser
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