Gary Seath 2 months ago
Ruari’s dedication to the cause is fuelled by a range of personal connections to the armed forces community.
Ruari continues:
“My personal link to the armed forces is an Officer Cadet with Wales University Officer Training Corp. My mum became a Trustee for Forces Children Scotland earlier this year, she was briefly a Reservist in the Royal Engineers back in the 90s. And then I’ve got a link to my grandparents with the war, but I think most people probably have some sort of link there.”
When asked whether his preparations for the Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) have helped with preparing for his fundraising challenge, Ruari continued:
“Yeah, so, the mental and physical preparation, there is an overlap because it does take a certain mental strength to get through a 10K. And I’m trying to push a PB in this race, so that has added a bit of a mental…
You have to ignore the pain that you’re in and get through it, which overlaps particularly with AOSB, I’d imagine Sandhurst well, definitely Sandhurst as well. But at AOSB where you are mentally fatigued and you have to perform at your best to present yourself well. And on the purely physical side, it is just really good fitness to get to that standard for the fitness tests and the physical tests that you face at AOSB.”
Ruari has committed to a thorough training schedule alongside his AOSB preparations, aiming to achieve a personal best when he takes to the streets of Edinburgh to raise funds for Forces Children Scotland.
Ruari elaborates on his progress:
“It’s going quite well. I had an Ironman earlier in the year that I was integrating the training for this in with. I’ve had some challenges with shin splints and overtraining, but through that, I’ve learned a lot about S and C and prehab to avoid those injuries in the future. And bullet-proofing joints and tendons and the strength you can get from there.”
Ruari goes further to provide three top tips for others thinking about taking on a 10K fundraising event in support of our charity:
“My top three tips for running a 10K would be, firstly, during the race, just keep going because once you stop it’s really hard to get going again. It doesn’t matter what pace it is, even if you have to drop down to quite almost walking pace, as long as you’re still running, one foot in front of the other, it’s fine.
Secondly, I’ve found in previous races, nutrition is really important. So the days before, the day of, and during the race, what you eat and drink has a big difference. So in my Ironman race in July, I completely messed up my nutrition. It bit me, it came back to bite me, just with cramp and other issues.
And then my third piece of advice would be prehab, it’s really important. So when you’re training, especially if it’s a distance you’re not used to, it’s a big step up, that can put extra stress on your body that you’re not used to. Strength training, in combination with your running training, will improve you a lot in how you perform and it just prevents you from getting injured and it limits your injury potential.”
Donate
Funds raised through Ruari’s dedication to completing the Edinburgh Men’s 10K will help in our work supporting over 13,000 children and young people to overcome unique challenges associated with forces life to realise their potential and thrive.
Every contribution toward Ruari’s fundraising efforts will make a significant impact on their lives, through our mental health, youth participation, family support, education and learning, and influencing services.
Ruari reflects:
“Fundraising for that many kids in Scotland does feel amazing and it adds a bit of gravity to the race for me. I’m not running it just for myself, I’m running it for a group of people that I can support.
To donate, I’ve set up a Just Giving page that can be found on Forces Children Scotland’s website and their social media.”
Donate
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