A British athlete has become the first person in a wheelchair to complete the World Marathon Challenge, completing seven marathons in seven days, in all seven continents.
Darren Edwards began at a Russian air base in Antarctica on 31 January, before flying to Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza in Brazil and Miami.
The 32-year-old battled temperatures of minus 20 and winds of up to 60mph to finish his first marathon in five hours and 50 minutes.
Mr Edwards, from Shropshire, sped up as the week went on and completed his final race in two-and-a-half hours, raising about £50,000 in the process.
His wheelchair was fitted with tyres to suit each terrain and he and the other 39 competitors were only able to sleep and eat on the flights between continents.
The former Army reservist becomes the first wheelchair athlete to complete the challenge since its launch eight years ago.
It comes after he was paralysed from the chest down following a climbing accident in Snowdonia in 2017 when he fell 12m (40ft) down a rock face.
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He said he only survived because his friend managed to grab him, but he ended up spending five months in hospital..
“From the moment I fell, the moment Matt saved my life, I was determined that whatever happened I wouldn’t let it stop me from trying to live the fundamental life I wanted, which was full of challenge and adventure,” said Mr Edwards.
“I didn’t want to be a different person just because I’m in a wheelchair.”
‘What’s possible when there’s hope’
Reflecting on attitudes towards his disability, he said: “I remember being told about the things I wouldn’t be able to do and how life would never quite be the same.
“What I have done in the years that have followed is to try to show a person that might be in a hospital right now, who may be young and active, what is possible when there is hope, and that there is room for aspiration and ambition and to dream.”
He said his injury had in fact led to the most unexpected journey of his life.
“The things I’ve done, the person I’m getting married to this year, all of these things have happened, all of these things wouldn’t have happened had that rock not collapsed beneath my feet,” said Mr Edwards.
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The £50,000 Mr Edwards has raised will go to the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team – the charity that helped him learn to ski after his accident.
Now back in the UK, he’s already preparing his next challenge: travelling to Iceland in April to ski 93 miles (150km) across Europe’s largest glacier.
He’ll be joined by two other para-athletes, former rugby player and TV presenter Ed Jackson and Niall McCann.
