Visually Impaired Veteran Running Land’s End to John O’Groats for Ski Charity

7th August 2024

Last modified on August 24th, 2024

The 28-day challenge covers over 850 miles and Darren plans to be running 30+ miles a day.

He started at 7am on Friday.

Here is his updated post at the end of Day 1:

He is undertaking this feat of endurance to raise money for The Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Club, VIV Ski Club.

The club was founded over 45 years ago to give veterans with visual impairments a chance to enjoy a week of skiing or snowboarding each year.

For people who are members of the VIV Ski Club, skiing is an important part of their rehabilitation and ongoing well-being.

“The club helps members to gain confidence and freedom on the snow with support from a dedicated team of experienced volunteer guides, most of whom are veterans themselves,” said Stewart Graham from VIV Ski Club to PlanetSKI.

“All our visually impaired veterans (VIs) are registered blind, with their impairments ranging from heavily blurred vision to zero sight.”

We have more about the VIV Ski Club towards the end of this article.

This is the link to Darren’s GeoTag so you can track him on his challenge.

Darren has completed the Boston marathon.

Image c/o Darren Blanks.

Darren was a Challenger Two main battle tank driver and spent 5-years in the Kings Royal Hussars.

He had completed two tours of Iraq before he was 20-years old.

He left the army in 2008.

“A lot of my family members wore glasses, so I just thought I needed a pair and popped down to my local Specsavers for an eye test,” says Darren.

“It all went downhill from there.”

The first inkling it was something serious was when he saw staff members examining his results and shaking their heads.

They referred him immediately to hospital and he was eventually sent to have a brain scan.

It revealed Darren had an acoustic neuroma on his left side, a benign tumour that grows on the vestibular (balance) and cochlear (hearing) nerves.

“I was only 23 and you don’t expect to have a tumour at that age,” he says.

Darren had the tumour removed on December 1st, 2010.

As a result of the operation, he was made completely deaf in his left ear.

Three days after Christmas his health deteriorated even more.

Darren thought it was just a runny nose, but it turned out to be spinal fluid.

His skull had cracked open during the surgery and he was suffering from a cerebral spinal leak.

And a second bout resulted in him being admitted to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where he spent eight days in a coma in the intensive care unit.

In October 2011, a blood scan revealed that Darren suffered from Leber’s optical neuropathy, a rare genetic disease that would gradually make him blind.

Understandably, he spiralled into depression.

“I wouldn’t leave the house,” he says.

“I wouldn’t go to the nursery to pick up my son as I didn’t want to pick the wrong kid or go to the wrong room.

“I was scared to talk to people in case I was speaking to the wrong person.”

What pulled him away from the black hole was the support of his family and friends and the sporting opportunities offered by the Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Club.

Despite his sight deteriorating to where it seems he “is looking through a frosted car window, where only bold colours can be seen”, he has learnt to ski at the annual ski trip to the Dolomites in Italy.

Image c/o Darren Blanks.

About the Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Club

The VIV Ski club has been going for over 45 years supporting blind and visually impaired veterans participation in a week skiing in January to Canazei in the Italian Dolomites.

Each blind skier has a guide who is also ex-military or still serving that supports them for the duration of the trip.

Each pair VI Skier and Guide have a blue-tooth headset (similar to the ones you use with motorbikes) that they use to communicate with each other.

With this the guides are able to give directions and a running commentary of the slope ahead to their VI Skier.

There is a lot of trust involved in this which works both ways.

The guide and VIV Skier working as a team to navigate their way down the mountain.

In addition to this we wear distinctive jackets with writing on the back informing other users on the slope that there is a blind skier.

Image c/o VIV Ski Club.

The club has a mix of young and old (20yrs to 90yrs) and the whole range of skiing ability from those who are trying skiing for the first time ever as a person with a Visual Impairment.

To going on to compete and win medals in races.

Darren Blanks. Image c/o VIV Ski Club.

Darren started skiing in 2016 as a complete beginner after losing his sight and has progressed really well.

His big achievement was being able to ski round the Sellaronda ski circuit which stretches over a length of about 40 kilometres.

Darrens Lands End to John O’Groats running challenge will help raise vital funds to renew the the blue-tooth headsets and jackets and also support the Visually Impaired Skiers attending the trip.

Darren Blanks. Image c/o VIV Ski Club.

Here at PlanetSKI we wish Darren well and will updating on his progress as the challenge is underway.

Image c/o Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Club.

For more information and to get involved please contact comms@vivsc.co.uk

See here for Darren’s Just Giving Page where you can make a donation.

His target is £8,500 and on the eve of his departure, August 15th, Darren has already raised £4,693 from 125 supporters – that’s almost half way to his target.

See here for more on Darren’s Facebook Page.

Image c/o Darren Blanks.