Almost decade on from devastation, RAF veteran Mandy sets her sights on the London Marathon

10 March 2026

Almost decade on from devastation, RAF veteran Mandy sets her sights on the London Marathon 
 
Mandy Small, who proudly served 12 years in the RAF Police, is running the London Marathon on 26th April 2026 as a thank you to SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity for supporting her and her son, Jamie, after the devastating loss of her husband.  
 
Mandy, 47, met her husband Chris in 2004 whilst they were both deployed to Iraq, before they married and started a family together. After serving 21 years in the British Army, Mandy’s husband, Chris, took voluntary redundancy in 2013 but found adjusting to civilian life difficult and the couple separated.  
 
After struggling with his mental health, Chris lost his life to suicide in November 2016, two and a half years after leaving the Army. Their son, Jamie, was just 8 years old at the time of Chris’ passing.  
 
Mandy, who had returned to Woodbridge, Suffolk to live closer to her family after the separation, was supported by her local SSAFA branch, which helped with sourcing funding to cover funeral costs, providing new bedroom furniture and arranging bereavement counselling for Jamie.  
 
RAF veteran Mandy said “SSAFA, the charity as a whole and my local Suffolk branch were with us every step of the way, from day one after I reached out for help. It’s hard to put into words how much they helped us, and it sounds cliché, but their support was life-changing but also lifesaving for our family.  
 
“We received financial support and the team also sourced counselling but, more than anything, it was the emotional support we received from SSAFA that was the most help. I had someone who treated me as Mandy, not as Jamie’s mum, or Chris’s widow. They didn’t judge Chris for what he had done. There is so much stigma around suicide – but they got it. And through SSAFA being strong for me, I was able to be strong for Jamie.”  
 
Now, almost a decade on from her devastating loss, and with a personal goal to run a marathon before her 50th birthday, Mandy decided to express her gratitude to SSAFA through sheer physical exertion – taking on the gruelling but iconic 26.2-mile course around the capital. 
 
Having only been running since May last year, she initially approached the mammoth challenge slowly, tackling the ‘Couch to 5km’. After seeing her confidence build, and her mental health improve, she also successfully completed the Ipswich half marathon in 2025.  
 
Despite encountering an injury, which required a short break for recovery, her determination is stronger than ever, even enlisting a personal trainer to support with strength and conditioning training.  
 
Mandy added: “I’m not a runner – but I took on the Ipswich half marathon last year to give me more confidence and prove to myself that I could do this. I’ve found that I am actually really enjoying the positive changes the training is bringing to my lifestyle. My eating habits have improved, I’m sleeping better. Mentally, I’m stronger too.  
 
“I have my pre-training ritual now, I have a delicious spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread to help with my carb-loading before I take off for my run, listening to my favourite romance audiobooks as I go. Surprisingly, I’m really loving taking on this challenge especially as I am doing it for SSAFA, a charity I am so grateful to.”  
 
After receiving the support from SSAFA, Mandy then went onto work for the Armed Forces charity in a fundraising role. Giving her a new perspective on life, she found her passion lies with helping the Armed Forces community – supporting those who may find themselves in a position similar to the one her and her son overcame – and has since began working as a veteran outreach support officer.