'Unseen injury' inspires Black Isle woman to complete Paris marathon
A BLACK Isle woman touched by the plight of a friend whose brother committed suicide has completed a gruelling marathon in Paris to boost the efforts of a mental health charity providing a lifeline to former service personnel.
Fiona Grist, who lives in Cromarty, was already well aware of the importance of services offered by Combat Stress, having herself served in the Army for over 18 years.
The charity provides free specialist clinical treatment and welfare support to ex-servicemen and women across the UK with mental health conditions.
Fiona said: “I was inspired to raise money for Combat Stress after my friend’s brother sadly committed suicide.
"She is running the London Marathon in memory of her brother and to fundraise for a charity that helps people dealing with suicide. It really highlighted that mental health is still the ‘unseen injury’ and I wanted to raise awareness of the incredible work that Combat Stress does for ex-serving personnel.”
She added: “The work they do is phenomenal and I thought that this would be a fantastic opportunity to raise some much-needed funds for them.”
After completing her nursing training in Glasgow, Fiona joined the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps in 1994. She served in the Army for over 18 years, leaving as a Major. During her service she completed two tours of Bosnia, one of Afghanistan, a four month exchange to Australia, and a tour of Northern Ireland – where she met her husband, Matt.
Fiona became aware of the work of Combat Stress during her time in the Army, and knows the positive impact it can have in helping veterans to rebuild their lives.
Now working as a charge nurse at Highland Hospice, providing palliative care for patients from across the Highlands and Islands, she also runs a little holiday cottage in Cromarty with Matt and daughter Tilly. While she has previously undertaken charity fundraising for a number of charities before, including running the London and Loch Ness marathons, this was her first time running in Paris.
She said: “It has always been an ambition of mine to run a marathon abroad, but this is definitely my last one as they are getting harder. I was supported by my friends and family on the route and raising money for such a great charity made it all worthwhile. It was great to be rewarded with a nice glass of French wine at the finish line too.”
Andy Smith, regional operations manager at Combat Stress, hailed her effort, adding: “Combat Stress has seen a 28 per cent rise in referrals in 2014-2015, and while better awareness of veterans’ mental health issues can only be a positive step, it further increases the demand for services provided by the charity. Fundraisers like Fiona are absolutely vital to ensuring that Combat Stress is able to continue supporting veterans in Scotland and across the UK.”
Fiona has raised over £1500 for Combat Stress and completed the marathon in an impressive time of four hours and 12 minutes. You can still donate to Combat Stress through her JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/Fiona-Grist1
