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about training for a marathon and did everything wrong, from wearing inadequate footwear to not hydrating properly and certainly not doing enough miles in training. I reached mile 15 in the race and began to wonder what all the fuss was about, a mile later I found out! Something hit me and it was as if my legs had decided to just pack up. I learned some time later about ‘the wall’, but at the time I didn’t know whether to walk, sit down or give up. In the end, I did none of these and struggled on to finish in a time of 3 hours 38 minutes. After crossing the line I experienced a feeling like I’d never felt before, one of accomplishment and sheer euphoria, it felt like I’d conquered the world!

      Unfortunately, that feeling faded somewhat the following day when I woke up to discover I had legs like gateposts and after attempting to walk down the stairs, I swore I’d never run a marathon ever again! It was all I could do to go down the stairs backwards and a full week passed before I could walk normally again. Time, of course, is a great healer and several weeks later, I was back running again. I’d found something special that I enjoyed, something that made me feel confident about myself and something that felt good, not only physically but also spiritually.

      I wasn’t aware at the time, but this was the start of an incredible journey. Not only a journey of personal achievement, but a journey that in time would see my wife and I travel to many wonderful places where we would meet many like-minded people with a common goal and make many new friends. It would give me the opportunity to put something back into the world, to inspire others and learn a lot more about myself as a human being, not only in terms of my character but to realise what an amazing machine the human body is.

      In a world where obesity and alcohol abuse are on the increase, where role models are created from appearing on reality TV programmes and where the greater media seem intent on focusing on all the gloom and negative aspects of life, this book is about an amazing group of people who, like me, have followed an incredible journey in the sport of extreme marathon running. They are not famous nor are they generally known to the wider public community, why would they be? What they do is healthy, positive and inspirational, attributes that sadly have perhaps been forgotten in some parts of modern society and all the things so often overlooked by today’s media in favour of so-called celebrity and TV-manufactured idols who are then held up as role models.

      Call me old fashioned, but I was brought up to realise that the world owed you nothing, there were no short cuts, if you wanted respect it had to be earned and you only achieved success with hard work and dedication. To run 100 or more marathons requires determination, courage and endeavour. For the 100 Marathon runners, the reward of achieving that goal is not one of fame or fortune, but a way of life that no one can buy and, sadly, not many will ever experience. It is well known that more people have climbed Mount Everest than have run 100 marathons or more. I therefore feel both proud and privileged to have discovered that way of life from an early age.

      I left school with little ambition, only too ready to step onto life’s conveyor belt of conformity and follow the masses that seem to be controlled by what comes out of the screen in the corner of the room. Thankfully, like the people in this book, I discovered an alternative life, that through doing something as simple as putting one foot in front of the other as quickly as possible over a long distance gave me the opportunity to feel alive. This book clearly demonstrates that with belief, hard work and dedication you don’t have to be an elite athlete on the world stage to realise a dream and that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.

      I would like to sincerely thank the author, Helen Summer, for allowing me the special privilege of writing this ‘foreword’. Also, congratulations and thank you to all the members past and present of the 100 Marathon Club for who you are and what you have achieved. Lastly (but by no means least) I’d like to thank my wife, Teresa, the other half of ‘Team Edwards’, whose love and support has contributed greatly to all that I have achieved.

      To all who read this book, remember one thing, we are all born athletes, what we do after is our choice.

      Steve Edwards, the fastest person in the world to run 500 marathons

       INTRODUCTION

      When I was first approached to write a book about people who had run over 100 marathons, never having run one marathon myself, never mind 100, I wasn’t convinced I was qualified. However, once it was pointed out to me that I had been involved in running for over 40 years (I started very young), that as a UK Athletics Level 3 endurance coach who had coached marathon runners of varying ages and abilities, and through my work with Running Crazy Limited (www.runningcrazy.co.uk) who arrange running trips abroad, I was constantly in the company of marathon runners, I realised maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t totally unqualified. Plus, never having run one meant I could take an objective view of matters, and never having run 100, I wouldn’t be blinded by my own obsession or my insanity, which, let’s face it, if we’re honest most of us would consider a prerequisite of anyone who has run a minimum of 100 marathons.

      But what if we’re wrong? What if, instead of being crazy they are just passionate? Perhaps instead of being obsessive they are just committed? And what if I told you that having met some of them, I can honestly say a nicer, friendlier, happier and more positive bunch of people you’d be hard pushed to find anywhere? So much so that in the end I forgot to feel unqualified and simply felt privileged to enter a world where people genuinely care as much about their fellow man’s performance as they do their own, where they celebrate with total generosity of spirit one another’s achievements, as well as sharing in their disappointments, comparing aches and pains and recounting the sheer bloody hard work that is actually a prerequisite of every marathon, whether it’s your first or your 100th.

      Okay, so maybe there is a hint of madness but where would be the fun in this book, both for me as the writer and you as reader, if there wasn’t?

      Of course while this book is predominantly about the people, it is also about the extraordinary, sometimes bizarre races they have run in, the places they have been to and the discoveries they have made, not only of themselves but also the world at large. It is also about the way running reflects life, testing, challenging and ultimately teaching us how to deal with both the good and the bad with grace and dignity.

      And so, without further ado I urge you to follow me and meet the characters who make up the 100 Marathon Club, discover the uniqueness of the Addis Ababa Marathon, the perils of appearing at Trafalgar Square dressed as a polar bear and the horror in finding yourself mistakenly on the elite starting line of the London Marathon dressed in a bin liner and carrying a plastic cup of tea! Discover too what it’s like to face the challenge of a marathon (or over 100 of them) when you are blind or in a wheelchair.

      Share the laughter and tears, the pain and the glory, while reaping the benefit of words of wit and wisdom from those who have a wealth of knowledge and experience of marathon running – some stuff you can’t learn from a textbook!

      AUTHOR’S NOTE:

      The total number of marathons run by each athlete was correct at the time of writing; however, due to the very nature of the sport, all numbers will have increased by the time this book goes to print.

       MILE 1

       A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY, PLUS SOME OTHER STUFF

      Before we get to the really interesting bit – the people themselves – let’s start at the beginning. How exactly did a club for people who had run over 100 marathons begin?

      I was lucky enough to be put in touch with one of the Club’s founder members, David Phillips, a man who, by the time this book goes to print, will have run over 400 marathons in 25 years and raised over £50,000 for charity in the process.

      I feel humbled. At least I did until he presented me with a car boot full of memorabilia.

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