The Twelfth Annual Cateran Yomp on 3-4 June saw the largest ever number of participants, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to support soldiers, veterans and their families.
Over 1200 soldiers, veterans and civilians from a wide range of countries, including the US, New Zealand, Ukraine and Germany, signed up for the challenge to trek across the 54-mile Cateran Trail in the foothills of the Cairngorm Mountains in Perthshire in just 24 hours. The route has Bronze (22 miles), Silver (36 miles) and Gold staging posts, and over 450 people completed the gruelling distance in full. 1 Rifles was the first Army team to be awarded the Gold distinction, crossing the line in just under 16 hours.
Completing Silver in 13 hours and 6 minutes, this year’s Ambassador was Royal Artillery Veteran Lee Harris-Hamer (31), from Thirsk. Lee’s Army career was cut short at the age of 24 because of a back injury. However, a grant from ABF The Soldiers’ Charity helped him use his Army skills to start his own successful commercial cleaning business in North Yorkshire, which now employs over 40 staff.
The Cateran Yomp has raised millions of pounds, with donations funding everything from wheelchair ramps for soldiers’ homes, to respite care and personal recovery plans for injured soldiers returning from the front line. In FY 22/23 alone, the charity supported around 70,000 members of the Army Family in 45 countries around the world.
Delighted with this year’s event, Major General (Ret’d) Tim Hyams OBE, Chief Executive, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity said:
“I am hugely grateful to every single participant; all of whom have demonstrated significant mental and physical resilience, and an evident sense of teamwork. In so doing, they have made a tangible difference to our ability, as the Army’s national charity, to be there for soldiers, for life.”
This year’s event was sponsored by The Famous Grouse, alongside Dover Fueling Solutions, Arnold Clark Car and Van Rental, Land Rover Pentland and Leonardo. We also worked with local sponsors Castle Water, Mackie’s of Scotland and Tunnocks.