Karl joined the Staffordshire Regiment in 2003 and deployed on Op Telic 6 to Basra City in 2005 at the age of 18. Towards the end of this tour he was deployed to what became the Al Jameat Riots, where his Warrior vehicle was hit by multiple petrol bombs.
Karl sustained 37% burns to his face, hands, arms, legs and stomach. In places the skin was almost burnt to the bone. It took five years of surgery to rebuild Karl, having had 16 operations and clocking up over 100 hours on the operating table. But during this time Karl found motivation, and wanted to challenge life – to use the past as experience and manage change in a positive way.
Karl has now run hundreds of marathons and ultramarathons across the world, as well as summitting Mt. Manaslu in Nepal, and attempting Mt. Everest.
Project Fire and Ice will be Karl’s way of marking 20 years since that fateful day in Basra.