Horsham man to take on London Marathon in military kit and pack weighing 40lbs

As if the challenge wasn’t already difficult enough, Gareth will be tackling the most famous marathon in the world in military kit, running in boots and wearing a pack weighing 40lbs.

Gareth is no stranger to this kind of event, in June last year Gareth completed a gruelling event known as The Fan Dance. A 24-kilometre speed march carrying a 40lb pack over the Pen Y Fan Mountain and back, which is situated in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales.

The route is also part of selection for the Special Air Service regiment or the SAS, as its better known, impressive once you consider that Gareth is also a sufferer of the neurological illness epilepsy.

In May 2018 after a fall at home and sustaining a head injury, Gareth started to experience black outs, and was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy.Gareth said: “The blackouts started several days after the accident, and were infrequent. But as time went on, I started to experience more and more, until eventually I was having several a day.

"These blackouts would leave me with no memory of who or where I was, it would sometimes take hours for my memory to completely return, it was quite frightening. I couldn’t work, and eventually lost my job, which then triggered a decline in my mental health. I was depressed and suffering terribly with anxiety.”

Eventually Gareth’s depression and anxiety got so bad it would see him admitted into hospital, and then require home visits from the local mental health team.

Gareth puts his mental health recovery down to his childhood love of the outdoors and exercise. “I just want to be fit and healthy, I’m no longer concerned with how much money I earn or material things, my focus now is on my health, both physical and mental.

"And although my epilepsy is proving difficult to treat with medication, I have tried not to let it hold me back, which sometimes is quite difficult to do, as it influences everything I do day to day.

"I have amazing support from my two daughters, family and my girlfriend Emma, and I’m not quite sure where I’d be without them to be honest. They have to put up with so much, as I’m not the best patient.”Not only has Gareth been training hard physically but he’s also been working hard academically. “During my time off I’ve gone back to school and done my English GCSE, I’m currently looking at other courses to take which will make me more attractive to employers, when hopefully my epilepsy is controlled enough to go back to work.

"My medication is constantly being changed to find the right combination, and maybe in the future surgery will be an option.” Gareth’s story is also being immortalized in print, with a book following his journey being published ready for Christmas.”There are more than 600,000 sufferers of Epilepsy in the U.K, with around 1,000 dying each year from SUDEP (sudden unexplained death in epilepsy).

The Epilepsy Society not only supports those that suffer from epilepsy but also their families . Providing funding for new research into medications and treatment, as well as breaking the stigma attached to this illness.If you would like to support Gareth in his London Marathon challenge then you can donate via the link: 2023tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/garethdelatorre