Poet’s Corner

SEVEN IN SEVEN (FOR BLIND DAVE HEELEY AND MAD MAC)

14-04-2008

The Stirrer’s poet laureate pays this tribute in verse to the heroic achievements of Blind Dave and Mad Mac – only the third and fourth people in the world to run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

Shoulder to shoulder

Dave and Mad Mac

Around the world running

There and back

Realising the dream

Both men had been driven

To become one of the seven in seven in seven

Schedule upon schedule

Flight upon flight

As one run ends in glory

The next is in sight

Whirlwinds of emotion

Carrying them on

To become one of the seven in seven in seven

Continent to continent

And zone to zone

Not a minute to lose

And never being alone

The eyes of the world

Have gazed upon these men

In becoming one of the seven in seven in seven

Changes in climate

Altitude and humidity

Only part of the challenge

For followers of humility

Fund raising for charity

Without concession

Upon completing the seven in seven in seven

From Mount Pleasant’s

Start line fly past

Each blistered step is marked

Towards London’s pounding last

No barriers for Blind Dave

No journey too uneven

When competing for seven in seven in seven

The attention shifts

When the tape is crossed

To how it feels

When adrenalin’s lost

One man’s pain

Is another one’s heaven

In describing the seven in seven in seven

And they’re shoulder to shoulder

Dave and Mad Mac

Back on the road

Never looking back

Pointing their running shoes

Out in a new direction

Now they’ve become one of the seven in seven in seven

Copyright Brendan Hawthorne 2008

Dave and Mac were running to raise awareness of Guide Dogs for the Blind. You can donate at www.justgiving.com/7mm