TC customer Dave Heeley plans to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days next year. It’s surely the ultimate endurance test, and one that only Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his running partner Mike Stroud have ever managed.
Dave, who is blind, will have to run 183.4 miles in one week. It’ll be a punishing schedule for him – but spare a thought for Victoria Cheeseman, the Travel Counsellor organising the travel for Dave and his team of four. Their route will have to cover Antarctica (Falkland Islands), South America (Santiago), North America (Los Angeles), Australasia (Sydney) Asia (Singapore), Africa (Cairo) and ends up on 7 April in Europe for the London Marathon.
‘The only way for the timing to work is for Dave to sleep on the flights,’ says Victoria, who is going to have a pretty gruelling marathon herself. ‘I’ll be sending my children away for the week,’ she says. ‘The time logistics are frightening. It’ll only take one slight hiccup like a flight delay to throw all the plans.’ Dave wants his marathon feat to raise awareness and make a difference to the lives of blind and partially sighted people.
‘Around the world, every five seconds, someone loses their sight and in many countries there are few services or none at all to help them,’ says Dave who is raising money for Guide Dogs. ‘Over the years my guide dogs Peter, Carla and now Wicksie have transformed my life, returning my independence and freedom.’ With Victoria’s help, Dave hopes to raise £1 million (€1.47m), which will cover the cost of training and supporting 32 guide dogs. If you’d like to support Dave Heeley in his astonishing feat, click on www.justgiving.com/777.
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