Hitch for blind marathon runner

LDDA - The Liberal Democrat Disability Association <info@disabilitylibdems.org.uk>

Hitch for blind marathon runner

March 14, 2008 12:00 AM

A blind man hoping to complete seven marathons in seven days has had to alter his route just weeks before his first challenge. Dave Heeley, 50, will run his first marathon in the Falklands Islands but is not allowed to use Argentinian air space to reach Chile for his second. Organisers said the second challenge would now take place in Brazil.

Mr Heeley, from West Bromwich in the Black Country, has a guide and aims to finish at the London Marathon.

"When planning a global event like this there are always going to be logistical problems to iron out - whether that be in physical training or in the planning of the route and flights around the globe," he said. "We have been unfortunate enough at this relatively late stage to be forced to change our route slightly due to the refusal to enter Argentinian air space."

After the first two marathons in South America, the father-of-three and guide, Malcolm Carr, hope to run five further gruelling legs in Los Angeles, Sydney, Dubai, Tunis and London. Mr Heeley is raising money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, who have organised the event.

He will become the first blind person to have completed such a test of endurance and joins adventurers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud who have previously managed it.

"Dave's inspirational Seven Magnificent Marathons global challenge for Guide Dogs is made all the more extraordinary by the fact that he's blind - further pushing the boundaries of human endeavour," Sir Ranulph Fiennes said. "I wholeheartedly support Dave as he runs the world to raise awareness of visual impairment and celebrate the independence, freedom and confidence that a guide dog provides."

Mr Heeley starts his first marathon on 7 April and hopes to finish in London on 13 April.