Poole military wife and entrepreneur takes on 44-mile challenge marking the end of family’s Royal Marines chapter

A Poole mum and business owner is preparing to tackle 44 miles on foot with a group of fellow military wives this September, raising money for the Royal Marines community in a challenge that brings her own family’s military journey full circle.

Liz Hutchings, founder and Managing Director of Total Guide to Ltd, including local platform Total Guide to Dorset, and Total Business Network, will complete two 22-mile sections along the Dorset coast as part of the Braver Together Community Challenge, raising funds for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity.

For Liz, the locations at either end of the challenge carry particular significance.

She has been with her husband since he was training to become an Officer in the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Lympstone, and remembers attending Families Day, Ladies Night and eventually watching his passing-out parade there.

What followed was years of military family life, moves, deployments, raising their two daughters and living in the Cotswolds before the family eventually settled in Poole.

This spring, Liz’s husband left the military.

Poole is now the place the family has chosen to put down roots and raise their children, making this year’s challenge particularly poignant.

Liz said:

“It feels incredibly fitting to do this particular challenge this year. Lympstone is where our Royal Marines journey began. I remember Families Day, Ladies Night and watching my husband pass out there, long before we had our girls.

“We’ve been through all the different stages of military life since then, lived in different parts of the country, had our two children and eventually settled in Poole.

“My husband left the military this spring and this is where we’ll now stay and raise our girls. There’s something very full-circle about taking on a challenge that connects Poole, which represents this next chapter for our family, with Lympstone, where that enormous part of our lives started.”

Two 22-mile days – and a night under canvas

Liz will set out with her military-wife friends completing approximately 44 miles across over 2 days.

The challenge is raising money through Braver Together for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity, which provides lifelong support to serving and former Royal Marines and their families.

Its work includes welfare and financial assistance, mental health and wellbeing support, recovery and rehabilitation, employment and transition guidance, and helping members of the Royal Marines family stay connected.

For a group of women who have experienced military family life first-hand, it is a cause that is particularly close to home.

Liz said:

“When someone serves, military life inevitably becomes part of life for the whole family. You experience the moves, deployments, uncertainty and periods apart together, and the friendships you form with other military families can become incredibly important.

“Some of the women I’m doing this with have been part of that world with me for years. We’ve supported each other through all sorts, so taking on something like this together feels very appropriate.

“We’ll probably laugh, swear and drag each other through various points of those 44 miles – but underneath that is a really important reason for doing it.”

From zero to 44 miles in one summer

There has been one additional challenge: Liz only agreed to take part at the end of June.

That gave her little more than two months to build the endurance required, with most of the training falling directly across the school summer holidays.

Liz has therefore spent the summer fitting training around running her businesses and looking after her two young daughters.

Weekends have regularly consisted of long Saturday sessions of around 19 miles through Poole, the Purbecks and along the Dorset coast, followed by another 10–13 miles on Sunday to prepare for heading out again on tired legs.

Shorter runs and interval sessions have been squeezed into the working week alongside strength and cardio training, including her regular Blaze classes at David Lloyd Poole.

Holidays, family camping trips and weekends away have not meant a break from the training plan.

“When I agreed to it at the end of June, September sounded quite a long way away,” Liz said.

“Then I realised I essentially had one summer to get myself ready to cover 44 miles!

“I’ve been getting up early to run while we’ve been away or camping so I can get the training done before everyone else wakes up. Most weekends I’ve done a really long Saturday session followed by another decent distance on Sunday, then shorter and faster sessions during the week.

“Trying to fit that around running businesses and having two children home for the summer has possibly been as much of an endurance challenge as the running!”

Recovery has also become a family affair

Liz has used swimming with her daughters in Dorset’s beaches and rivers as an opportunity to gently move and flush out tired legs, alongside short hot-and-cold recovery sessions in the spa at David Lloyd Poole after her weekly Blaze class.

“I’ve tried not to let training mean disappearing from family life all summer,” she added.

“If we’re away, I’ll get up and run early. If we’re swimming at the beach or in a river with the girls, I’ll use that to loosen up my legs. I’ve kept my Blaze class going and usually follow that with a quick hot-and-cold session in the spa.

“It’s been a bit of a logistical operation, but the girls have ended up being part of the whole experience, which actually makes it more special.”

Supporting the Royal Marines family

Braver Together brings members and supporters of the Royal Marines community together through challenge, connection and fundraising, with money raised supporting the work of RMA – The Royal Marines Charity.

The challenge follows a previous Braver Together event in which military spouses and family members tackled 88 miles of the South West Coast Path, raising thousands of pounds.

TC, Braver Together challenge organiser, military wife and serving military personnel, said:

“We are incredibly proud to be part of such a supportive local business and military community. Last year, the generosity of individuals and local businesses helped us raise over £9,300 – and this year, as we grow the Braver Together Community Challenge, we’re aiming even higher.

“We truly value the local businesses and community that stand alongside our military families. Their support is not just about raising funds – it helps create connection, opportunities and a stronger community for everyone involved. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference.”

For Liz, completing this year’s challenge just months after her husband’s military career came to an end feels like an appropriate way to mark what that community has meant to her family.

“Being a military wife has shaped a huge part of my adult life and given me some amazing friendships,” she said.

“So, while I’m slightly terrified about how those final miles are going to feel, I’m also incredibly proud to be doing it with this group of women and for a charity supporting a community that has been part of our lives for so long.

“If anyone is able to sponsor us – even just a few pounds – we’d be incredibly grateful. And if donating isn’t possible, sharing our fundraising page would help enormously too.”

Liz and the Braver Together team are fundraising through JustGiving for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity.

Donations can be made at Just Giving