SIR RANULPH TO RUN WITH BLIND DAVE

29-03-2007

Black Country runner Blind Dave Heeley will have the ideal guide on the final leg of his attempt to complete seven marathons in seven days on seven continents next year - he'll be joined by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the first man tofinish the challenge.

Sir Ranulph and his co-runner Mike Stroud - who achieved the 777 in 2003 - have said they will run the London marathon in April 2008, along with Dave and his partner in masochism Malcolm “Mad Mac” Wickes.

Dave said: “We have had Sir Ran's support behind the scenes for some time now. He's been very helpful with trying to arrange the logistics, but we've just been waiting for him to confirm that he'll do the run as well.

“We couldn't be sure until after he'd completed his climb up the North Face of the Eiger but now he's safely negotiated that, he's given us the thumbs up . We know it's going to be tough, but having Ran and Mike there for the last part will just give us that extra bit of encouragement.”

When Dave completes the challenge, he'll be the first disabled athlete to have run the 777 - a punishing schedule which combines the rigours of jet lag and acclimatisation with the trifling matter of running 183 miles in a week.

You can read Blind Dave's blog only on The Stirrer - the next installament is tomorrow. And if you're new to this great West Midlands character, you can watch our film “Personal Best - The Story Of Blind Dave” here.