Double amputee veteran defies the odds again with latest challenge
The world's first amputee ultra-distance runner who was blown up and escaped execution has defied the odds again by finishing a solo 500-mile challenge in double-quick time.
Article Source: Help For Heroes
Last Updated: 23 September 2024 15:52
Chris Moon MBE from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, has successfully completed the Camino de Santiago, or Pilgrim’s Trail, along remote plains through France and Spain.
It usually takes 40 days, but he was determined to finish it in just 14 and could set a world record as the first double amputee to take on the gruelling trek – averaging 35 miles a day under intense heat to raise more than £14,000 for Help for Heroes.
“I started with a tough first day walking 20km uphill over the Pyrenees, a torrential downpour, and an altercation with some wild boars,” said the former farmer who went on to serve in the military was blown up after leaving the Army whilst helping to clear landmines in Mozambique in 1995.
This was two years after he negotiated his own release when Khmer Rouge guerrillas took him hostage in Cambodia whilst on a United Nations mission – execution was repeatedly threatened during the three days he was held captive.
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 a 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, who is originally from Wiltshire, 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 - which Chris, now 62, has finished an incredible six times.
He took on the 500-mile Camino de Santiago challenge to raise money for Help for Heroes as he is a Patron. The military charity supports the Armed Forces community to live well after service no matter when or where they served. He was unsupported and carried all his own kit but had a tracker in case of emergencies.
Chris 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 explained: “I was incredibly lucky to live after the blast and one of the reasons I survived was I was very fit. At that time, no one had ever survived injuries like it.”
“As I get older I have been able to look after myself but the problems of ageing can get harder for those of us who have suffered certain injuries. Help For Heroes continues to do an amazing job supporting our Armed Forces community to get their lives back.
“Losing my lower right arm and leg gives me some understanding of the challenges disabled veterans face. I'm very fortunate compared to many because, with good prosthetics, I can do most things."
The Camino de Santiago is a 1,000-year-old pilgrimage route leading to a church in Galicia, Spain, where Jesus’s Apostle, James, is supposedly buried.
“The challenges of being an amputee are constant which is why the valuable work of Help for Heroes is so important. I had a frustrating day when my stump had swollen, so the only thing I could do to stop it blistering was to sand a bit off the socket. It was short-term pain for long-term gain," he said.
“I was totally unsupported, so slept when and where I could and aimed to cover the distance of well over a marathon each day,” said Chris who had tested a new prosthetic leg and could now run a mile a minute faster than before.
His varied career includes studying at Seale Hayne Agricultural College, now Plymouth Faculty of Agriculture and achieving a Master's Degree in Security Management. He wrote his autobiography, One Step Beyond, and is also a motivational speaker and leadership trainer.
Chris 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 at Just Giving
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