Shropshire adventurer attempting to make history in World Marathon Challenge

He is the first disabled athlete to take on the challenge

Author: Ella StirlingPublished 19th Aug 2022

Darren Edwards from Shropshire is taking on his next challenge - seven marathons in seven days across seven continents.

In October, a group of 30 individuals will be embarking on this gruelling expedition, with fewer people completing it then reaching the summit of Mount Everest.

Starting in Antarctica, before travelling to Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, South America and concluding in North America, the marathons will each pose vast differences in weather, conditions and experiences.

In the summer of 2016, Darren suffered a near-fatal accident after falling 30ft during a rock climb, which left him instantly and permanently paralysed from the chest down.

Since then, he has organised and completed numerous challenges including rowing the English Channel last year, refusing to let his disability dictate what he is able to achieve.

Darren said: "For me this is another opportunity to prove how much can be achieved, regardless of disability and the adverseness we face. It's a chance to test myself and to see what I'm capable of achieving."

"I'm not just doing it for people with spinal injuries, I'm doing it for everybody. Everybody that faces adversity or challenges or finds themselves going through something they didn't perhaps expect in their life. Sometimes we need to be shown that we can emerge stronger from adversity than we entered it," he said.

Darren is aiming to raise £100,000 for the Armed Forces Para-Snowboard Team, an independent charity that uses the restorative power of para-snowsport to help the recovery and welfare of injured military personnel and veterans.

Donate to Darren's Just Giving page here.

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