Marathons to help Paralympian 'change perceptions'
Nottingham-based runner, who is a double leg amputee, secured gold medals as a sprinter at the Paralympic Games in Rio and London.Last year, he set the world record for the fastest marathon completed by an athlete with bilateral knee amputations in a time of two hours 41 minutes and 36 seconds.The athlete is now attempting to run 20 marathons in 2025 to take his total up to 100 while raising awareness about making sport more inclusive.He said he wanted to participate in races all over the world to "showcase disability sport and motivate people that anything is possible".The event will be Whitehead's 93rd marathon, having completed the Victoria Falls race in Zimbabwe at the beginning of July, with his next race in Reykjavik Iceland later this month.Having taken up running at the age of 28, he ran his first marathon on 2 November 2004 in New York, and is set to run his 100th on the same date back in the city.
"Sport has so many opportunities of enrichment, it is not just about participation, it is about the volunteering, spectating and administrating the events," Whitehead said. "Small events such as this should be celebrated, supported and encouraged to grow to a level that really does embrace the community spirit," he continued.There are about 25 nationalities represented among this year's entrants, including runners from the United States, Mexico and Germany.Organised by the Isle of Man Veteran Athletics Club, the event takes place on open roads, with runners starting between 08:00 and 09:15.
Organiser Michael Deverau said there "were not many places where you get better scenery to complete a marathon" as the route goes from the coastline, to the hills, to country lanes.He said while it was a "challenging" route, the event provided a "party atmosphere" with music playing as the runners complete the loop and crowds cheering them on at the end.He said the popularity of running had increased in recent years, which he believed was down to the rise of online initiatives such as Couch to 5K, as well as the success of Manx athletes in competitions. "With the recent Island Games, both the winners of the half-marathon, Christa Cain and Corin Leeming, were from the Isle of Man," he said.With both athletes taking on the weekend's event there was a "good chance" that the race's records would be broken this year, he continued."It is a great achievement, a beautiful race and brilliant atmosphere," he added.
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
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The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
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It changes the nature of the challenge, though, being as prepared as we will be, because there's something really interesting about your personal journey when you're underprepared. 'For example, my marathon saga was essentially a punishment for my drinking. At the time, I decided that I was going to stop drinking, and I hit what some might call rock bottom, and I signed up for the marathons and flew out to the middle of the desert to essentially punish myself and teach myself a lesson. It was a cathartic experience and there were moments of extreme pain followed by moments of elation and joy, because it was an unknown. We're not going to run that risk for this and I think we owe it to James' Place to be prepared and turn up ready.' This challenge is part of Matthews' mission to show himself, and others that human performance might well be limitless, but it also seeks to raise funds for James' Place, a UK charity focused on male suicide prevention and mental health support. 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I think getting out there and just putting in the steps and the time is really important.' 'And I don't have an extraordinary amount of spare time,' he says. 'I have three children, a wife and two businesses so typically, I get my training done before breakfast. I'll be out the door, running, training, lifting, cycling, swimming. Sometimes I do go for a three or four hour runs on weekends or days that I've got less on. Plenty of distance in the legs and just really believing in yourself – that's the barrier to entry for larger challenges such as these.' Matthews has found support in unlikely places during his journey. A dedicated team will accompany him on the Project 7 challenge, including health and logistics expert Chris Taylor. But on the ground in the UK, his training is spurred on by the communities he's attempted to build around his CleanCo alcohol-free brand, his Untapped podcast and around events like run clubs. 'I personally find the sporting community, the running community, in particular, the best social community I've ever been a part of. I love running with strangers. With run clubs that we've done 400 people will turn up. And we just did it slowly, really inclusive, and just had conversations with a bunch of people who all had their reasons.' 'I think the biggest lessons that I've learned are that consistency is the leading factor in my health journey. If you consistently show up and behave in a way that you admire and you want to be, one day you're going to wake up as that person. At some point you just wake up and realise that you're nothing to do with the person that used to be. I eliminated a lot of doubt and self loathing and turned it into pride, and it kind of opened up a whole world of 'what's next and what's possible?'' 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Guinness World Records said that 30 consecutive [marathons] would, in fact, be a world record, and the idea of becoming a world record holding athlete of any kind became this unthinkable target I was all of a sudden obsessed with.' 'It ended up being easily the most transformative period and the most meaningful time in my life,' says Matthews. He stops briefly and reflects before continuing, 'aside from having beautiful children with the love of my life. But just in terms of my own personal development. It was incredibly useful, the kind of strain of it all, but also the breaking down of the barriers and boundaries. I thought there must be such an exciting and interesting opportunity here for normal people like me to understand that these seemingly impossible things are possible.' The Untapped podcast was born out of this curiosity as Matthews decided to drop his comedy podcasts and focus solely on stories of human potential, adversity and success. 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But for me, the difference between having a few drinks and not drinking is enormous. I used to see taking periods of abstinence as a sacrifice, so I'd say, 'I'm not going to drink for this month in order to feel better'. And now my whole ethos around it is the complete opposite. I can drink whenever I feel like drinking, but I choose not to, because it will hinder who I am and my performance. I've become interested in health and physicality and wellness as part of my very being. So smoking, drinking, late nights don't really fit into what I want to be.' Reality TV to reality check I ask Matthews about the exact training and recovery protocol as well as the risks involved in taking on seven triathlons over seven continents. Jeopardy is a word that comes up a lot because on seven continents, weather conditions vary, the body is put through its paces running, swimming and cycling over varied terrain and in some cases, wild animals are abundant. 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