Jake Best set to complete 75-mile run to Pegasus Bridge in D-Day commemorations

Jake Best is one of 186 runners taking part in the Run to Pegasus in aid of The Veterans Charity.

This evening, he will set off from Tarrant Rushton on a 75-mile run, which will see him end at Pegasus Bridge on Thursday.

The historic site is where in June 1944 the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry launched an assault to seize the two bridges and secure a vital road inland for the troops landing on the beaches on D-Day.

Mr Best, of Bournemouth, is joined by team-mates Remi Damiani and Terry Porter for the challenge, with all participants representing one of the soldiers who liberated the bridges 75 years ago.

The group set off from the North Dorset RAF station and head to Portsmouth, where they will take a ferry across to Normandy before continuing their journey down the Caen Canal towpath.

"The three of us have gone in together to raise as much as we can," said Mr Best.

"The reason for doing this speaks for itself.

"After completing the challenge, it will feel very rewarding to be present at Pegasus Bridge on such an historic day. It will be something I remember forever.

"As soon as we cross the finishing line we will be met by the true heroes.

"Any pain we go through is all for remembering what these people faced and hearing their stories will be extremely special."

Mr Best is set to represent Private Wally Parr, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 83.

He was one of the regiment's best boxers back in the 1940s and on the first glider to land in the Pegasus Bridge assault mission.

The Bournemouth-based team have already raised more than £4,000 for the charity.

They have also been given the number one coin from the set of 75th D-Day memorial £10 coins by Poole-based firm 288 Group.

The coin, which is one of just 495 of its kind, will travel on the route with them before being sold to add to their fundraising total.

To find out more about their efforts and to donate to the cause, visit