On 2 March, fundraiser Amy Briggs took part in the Gym 2 Gym half marathon in Cyprus to raise money for the RAF’s leading welfare charity, the RAF Benevolent Fund, in memory of RAF Corporal Richard McLellan.
Amy, 37, walked the 13-mile marathon in memory of her friend of 20 years, Corporal McLellan, who lost his life to suicide in 2023. Corporal McLellan was a serving airman engineer based at RAF Leeming.
The Gym 2 Gym half marathon is a British Forces Cyprus (BFC) annual event, with a 13.1 mile route stretching from RAF Episkopi gym to RAF Akrotiri gym. This year, almost 300 people participated from the BFC.
Amy is based in Episkopi with her husband who is a soldier in Adjutant General’s Corps in the British Army. She prepared for the event by doing 5am walks around camp practising the route of the marathon.
Amy said:
“I wanted to raise funds for the RAF Benevolent Fund and for Andy’s Man Club, a men’s mental health charity in the north of England.
“I am truly gutted to have lost him like we did, and I wanted to push myself to complete something special for him.”
Amy continued:
“We met over 20 years ago now, through our partners at the time. We became friends instantly. I was always so impressed with his chivalry – he was an absolute gent. He was also extremely funny; we had many laughs over the years, sharing lots in common, including our love of cars and James Bond too!
“We both moved around all over the world so we often checked in with a funny quote or two and would reminisce about fond memories of our friendship over the years.”
Amy has raised over £2175 to split between her chosen charities. You can donate to the fundraiser here.
The RAF Benevolent Fund provides financial, emotional, and practical assistance to serving and retired RAF personnel and their families. This includes grants to help with financial difficulty, mental health support, Airplay youth clubs, and more.
