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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/soldiers-in-afghan-base-marathon.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="The soldiers have run 96 laps of the perimeter of their Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/min-soldiers-in-afghan-base-marathon.jpg" alt="The soldiers have run 96 laps of the perimeter of their Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan"/></a></p>
<p>Four British soldiers serving in Afghanistan are recovering after a &#8220;brain-draining&#8221; Christmas marathon saw them run 96 laps of their base.</p>
<p>The group, serving with 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, took on the challenge at Forward Operating Base Shawqat, in the Nad-e Ali area of Helmand province on Christmas Eve.</p>
<p>They included Major Eamonn Coogan, 49, from Beaconsfield, who decided to take part at the last minute after his colleagues told him he was &#8220;past it&#8221;.</p>
<p>Major Coogan, who has 32 years&#8217; service and 18 operational tours under his belt, set off on the 26.2-mile marathon at 4am, two hours ahead of his colleagues. He said: &#8220;I had been asked some months ago, when it was first being planned, whether I would like to take part in the marathon and I had declined, saying that at my age it probably wasn&#8217;t a good idea. But the day before the marathon I heard two officers discussing it and one of them said &#8216;Eamonn used to be a fantastic runner but he&#8217;s past it these days&#8217;.</p>
<p>&#8220;I popped out from behind my desk and told them I was past nothing. I was going to leave it at that but I went to bed that night and couldn&#8217;t get the idea out of my head that people thought I wasn&#8217;t the person I used to be. So I decided that I would show them.&#8221;</p>
<p>The father-of-four, originally from Birmingham, who finished in five hours 21 minutes, added: &#8220;I am in my 32nd year of service with the Army and I very much enjoy the physical requirements of soldiering. Unfortunately I will retire next year but I do keep myself fit and I think I proved to me colleagues that I&#8217;m not past it yet. I felt a bit stiff afterwards but much better for doing it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Lieutenant Claire Westerman, 24, from Southampton, Captain Jon Toomey, 33, from Warminster, and Captain Gregg Hutchison, 32, from Armagh, ran the marathon in preparation for a 350-mile endurance exercise they will take part in next year. The Exercise Boru&#8217;s Bound in April will see them run from Tern Hill, Shropshire, to Stranraer in Scotland before boarding a ferry to Belfast where they will take part in the city&#8217;s marathon in a bid to raise more than £20,000 for the Army Benevolent Fund, the Royal Irish Benevolent Fund and Help for Heroes.</p>
<p>Lt Westerman, a unit education officer, said: &#8220;It was hard work of course, but it was great training for Exercise Boru&#8217;s Bound, which will be the real challenge. Forward Operating Base Shawqat is not the biggest of bases, so 96 laps got a bit repetitive and brain-draining &#8211; but there was plenty of banter and we had a good laugh.&#8221;</p>
<p>Captain Toomey said: &#8220;This was my first ever marathon so it was quite daunting &#8211; although I suppose the really daunting thing is the 350 mile Boru&#8217;s Bound coming up in April. As it was my first attempt though, I was happy to complete it within four hours and felt really good about it afterwards. I&#8217;m sure my feet will stop hurting soon.&#8221;</p>
<p>And Captain Hutchison said: &#8220;It was a cold start at 6am and I still hadn&#8217;t really warmed up by the time I finished it four hours later. Everyone put in a strong performance and it was an interesting way to spend Christmas Eve.&#8221;</p>
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