RAF veteran to run Cirencester Half Marathon for Fund

On 2 November 2025, a Cotswolds RAF veteran will run the Cirencester Half Marathon to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Former Logistics Officer, Ben Stevens, joined the RAF in 1988 and served until 2012. Ben, AGE, from the Cotswolds, will be running the inaugural Cirencester Half Marathon through the scenic Cotswolds countryside.

Ben shared his reasons for choosing to support the Fund, saying: “I have supported the RAF Benevolent Fund throughout my RAF career, from the age of 16, and ever since. I still feel very much part of the RAF Family and it’s just reassuring to know that the Fund is there for serving and ex-serving RAF personnel and their families in so many ways.

“I had cause to call on the amazing support of the Fund following a close family bereavement. Tragically, my darling daughter, Dannii, was in a no-fault road collision last year and did not survive. Naturally, our family is still very lost and devastated. Dannii is survived by her two daughters, my granddaughters, who were her world and her theirs.

“Whilst she lives on through them, I found it very hard to deal with losing Dannii. The Fund stepped in to help me with some bereavement counselling. I cannot tell you how helpful it was to be able to express and deal with different issues.”

Ben added: “The counselling helped so much at the time and gave me tools to address subsequent health issues. I haven’t run a long distance for well over a decade so it will be a challenge, which I am now training for. It’s a drop in the ocean but I really hope that my fundraising can help others in the same way.

“It’s so important to me to continue to remember and celebrate Dannii’s life. We cannot change the past, but we can influence the future, and what better way than to give back and do good for others. Dannii always saw positivity through adversity and was a gloriously colourful, vivacious person. We should all be more like Dannii.”

Jenny Pearce, Head of Community Fundraising at the Fund, said: “We hugely appreciate the support from our incredible fundraisers like Ben. Without their generous support, we wouldn’t be able to continue the work we do to be there for serving RAF personnel, veterans and their families, in their time of need.”

You can donate to Ben’s fundraiser on JustGiving.