Dave Heeley prepares for marathon challenge

Mar 27 2008 Submitted by Nikki Wright

BLIND Dave Heeley departs the UK on March 30 to begin Guide Dogs’ Seven Magnificent Marathons challenge - to become the first blind person to complete seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days.

Dave and his support team will bid an emotional farewell to supporters as they embark on their epic challenge, which begins with preparations in Rio De Janeiro ahead of flying to the Falkland Islands (Antarctica) for the start of the Seven Magnificent Marathons challenge at 00:01 (UK time) on April 7 in Mount Pleasant.

The second leg of the challenge will take place back in Rio De Janeiro (South America) within the same 24 hour period, before Dave and the team board their flight to Los Angeles (North America) for the third leg at the world-famous Rose Bowl.

The fourth leg is being held at Centennial Park in Sydney (Australasia), the fifth at Safa Park in Dubai (Asia) and sixth in Tunis (Africa). The spectacular finale is the Flora London Marathon, on April 13.

The Flora London Marathon will be the last 26.2 miles of Dave’s gruelling ultimate test of human endurance, as he fulfils his ambition to run the globe to prove that sight loss is no barrier to human achievement, increase awareness of visual impairment around the world and raise money for Guide Dogs in the UK.

On completion of the Flora London Marathon, 50 year-old Dave - a married father of three from West Bromwich, in the West Midlands - will have run a total distance of 183.4 miles in approximately 168 hours, taking over 250,000 steps!