A FORMER soldier from the Forest has raised more than £3,000 for a disabled children’s charity after overcoming Covid-19 to complete the London Marathon.

Father-of-two Trevor Hopkins, who lives in Coleford, took on the marathon on Sunday (October 4) to raise money for national charity Whizz-Kidz, which works to "transform the lives" of disabled children.

Trevor was in the armed forces for more than 22 years before transitioning out of military service 20 months ago.

He now works as an assistant site manager at Merlin Gate in Newent for Barratt David Wilson Homes, which encouraged its employees to volunteer for the marathon and boosted Trevor’s fundraising efforts by pledging to match funds up to a contribution of £1,000.

Ahead of the big day, Trevor said he hoped that taking part in the marathon would not only allow him to raise as much money as possible for the charity, but also aid both his mental and physical well-being.

Trevor suffered PTSD in 2012 following service in Afghanistan and Iraq, and his recent transition out of military service during the pandemic cut him off from his traditional support networks.

"My end goal is to try and raise as much money as possible for Whizz-Kidz whilst at the same time trying to help my own physical and mental well-being along the way", he said. "My darkest moments are when I am idle so when I saw Barratts were after volunteers for the marathon, I jumped at the chance as I see it as an opportunity to get some routine back into my life, outside of work. I know from previous experience that physical training has helped with my mental state as well so it would be a win win. Helping these kids is my perfect tonic."

Before he agreed to take on the challenge, Trevor had not run for over a year as he had been carrying injuries which required surgery.

His preparations were further disrupted when he became ill with Covid-19 just three weeks before the marathon.

During his recovery from Covid he commented: "This is not the best preparation and just another obstacle to make this marathon even more challenging. But regardless of how hard it gets, I will drag myself over the finish line!"

Speaking after the marathon on Sunday, Trevor said: "It went okay, I could have been better prepared if I’m honest!

"I had 12 weeks from the time I learned I was going to do it, and it was during week nine that me, my wife and my son all got Covid. So I effectively had a week of training once I’d recovered before the marathon, and my longest run before that was 10 miles.

"There was a point around mile 22 when I just hit a wall.The weather had been great for most of the day but at that point it absolutely poured down with rain, it was only the thought of everyone supporting me and everyone that had donated that kept me going.

"I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported me by making a donation."

Trevor was supported in London by his family and friends and spotted several of his supporters en route to the finish.

"I also want to say a special thank you to my wife Laura, who was really worried about me doing it in the first place because of the lack of preparation time," he continued. "She wanted me to defer it until next year really but I just pushed on, so a massive thanks goes to her for supporting me."

Anyone looking to donate to Trevor’s cause can visit his fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/trevor-hopkins.