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Marathon man Richard completes race across Britain

Richard Whitehead has completed his epic challenge- a mammoth 40 marathons in 40 days for charity. He reached Land’s End on the south-west coast of Great Britain on 23 September in front of a crowd of supporters and family.

His fiancee Valerie and daughter Zarah were there when Whitehead crossed the line less than two months after becoming the 200m T42 world champion at the 2013 IPC Athletics Championships in Lyon, France. After Whitehead said:

“Despite the constant aches, pains and endless hills there was one thought that kept me going. That thought was a determination to prove that anyone and everyone can live a life without limits. Once you have accepted this, you can push the barriers as far as they can go. I hope I have been able to leave that message with the people across Britain.”

 

Whitehead started the final 26.2 miles of his journey at Helston, Cornwall, just one day behind schedule. He had picked up blisters from one of his prosthetics earlier on in the 977 mile route, forcing him to take an unplanned rest day on the advice of doctors.

He has been supported by members of the public who were able to join him for 5km, 10km or whole marathons along the way, as well as celebrities and fellow athletes including British Paralympians Dan Greaves and Dame Sarah Storey and British Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington.

Among good luck messages he received was an official letter from Number 10 Downing Street with a message from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

EFDS would like to extend our congratulations to Richard and his team on his amazing success. Our vision is that disabled people are active for life. We are proud to have cheered Richard on throughout his career.

About Richard

Richard always dreamt of being able to run a marathon and in January 2004, he set himself the mother of all challenges. With the dream of being able to run, he entered the New York Marathon. When he sent off the application form he had zero running experience, he had never even run a single mile, never mind twenty-six.

Richard's training started that February.  He began running mainly on treadmills in his local gym and then built up enough confidence to brave the open roads. Mainly running at night so as not to attract any attention, he began to experience the freedom of running outside. He was hooked.

The New York Marathon in November 2004 was a life defining experience for Richard. Support he received from fellow runners and spectators took him to a different level - he finished his first marathon in 5 hours 18 minutes with thousands of people urging him to the finish line.

Richard lives in Nottingham and is coached by marathon runner Liz Yelling. He worked for Nottingham City Council as an Inclusive Multi-skill Officer, developing and mentoring teachers and students in the fundamentals of multi-skill activities prior to becoming a full time athlete at the start of 2011.

Richard Whitehead is a congenital double amputee, Paralympian, who now applies his determination and natural athleticism to long-distance running. He is the current world record holder for leg amputees in both the half and Olympic marathon distances. In addition, he is also the first ever leg amputee to complete the marathon in under 3 hours.

For more information on Richard, click here to visit his website.

You can continue to support Richard's causes. Whitehead began his epic challenge on 13 August to raise money for British charities Sarcoma UK and Scope.