MP spurred on in gruelling challenge by heartbreaking loss

The gruelling 236-mile, six-day trek down the spine of Wales is reputed to be the world's toughest mountain race, a test of stamina and endurance where only the strongest survive.

Each section has its own set target route which must be completed within 16 hours, and sees competitors navigating their way over rocks and sheep tracks before sleeping out under the stars - and then doing it all again the next day.

Miss the cut – as many do – and you're out.

"It's easily the most challenging thing I've done outside the Army," said Mr Anderson, who served for nine years and is currently the Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West.

The challenge had to be big, he says, to match the depth of feeling he has towards the good causes he is raising money for. One of them, the Elysium Memorial Foundation, is particularly close to his heart.

The group, founded by Sgt Ed Mackenzie, wants to erect a memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, to remember veterans from the Army, Navy and RAF who have lost their lives to suicide after the end of their service.

Mr Anderson was almost one of them, having come close to killing himself when he turned to drink in an effort to "escape reality" after leaving the Army.

"I was one of those soon to be statistics," he said. "I had got to that stage where I couldn't see any hope and was ready to take my own life.

"I suffered in silence for 15 years and we need to do all we can to prevent others from going through that, but we also need somewhere where people can remember service men and women who take their lives."

Mr Anderson says that if for example, a soldier was injured in Afghanistan and died six years later from the injuries sustained, their name would be included on the memorial wall at the NMA.

"If you took your life six years later because of what you witnessed, it is extremely hard to get on that wall because it has to be proved that the life was taken because of service," he added.

"It is so hard for the families to deal with that. If I had taken my own life the only person close enough to me at the time was my mom.

"That's got to be one of the most distressing things for someone to have to catalogue how someone took their life to get their name on a memorial."

Mr Anderson, aged 45, says training for the race, which has took place on four previous occasions since 1992, has not gone according to plan.

His mountain training has been limited due to the lockdown, and not long after he started running in Snowden and the Clee Hills an abductor muscle injury left him sidelined for two months.

"Up to now I've had the worst possible preparation," he said. "But I'm starting to step things up now, which means 2am and 3am starts in the mountains.

"For this event it's not about the amount of times you train, it's about 'time on feet', so I do eight or nine hours at a time, a few times a week.

"I'm also getting used to eating small amounts every 25-30 minutes. There's a real science to it. It's not just run and hope for the best.

"If I can get to the start line uninjured and used to a 12-hour day on my feet, I think I'll be fine."

Mr Anderson said he hopes that by completing the run he can raise awareness of the issue, and also wants to use his status as an MP to push for improved support for veterans and for mental health in general.

He said: "When I hear of veterans who have committed suicide my heart sinks. I've been to funerals of colleagues where you see a three or four-year-old child wondering why daddy isn't coming home and what all these soldiers are doing here.

"It's heartbreaking. Thankfully we have moved on from where we were when I suffered, but we can do a lot more.

"It is a topic that people don't know how to talk about, which is why I thought that I had to speak out."

He is also raising funds for the Wolves Foundation, which he says serves as an inspiration to many across the city.

To donate visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/elysium-memorial-dbr and justgiving.com/fundraising/stuart-anderson-mp-dbr-2021.