Express & Star

Blind Dave Heeley: Sandwell fundraising hero completes Birmingham Marathon in the latest leg of his gruelling challenge

Blind Dave Heeley completed a marathon and half-marathon in the same day for the latest leg of his fundraising push.

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Blind Dave

The legendary fundraiser finished the inaugural Birmingham Marathon and then, after a short break, tackled the city’s half-marathon.

Running nearly 40 miles in a day proved a tough task even for Dave, who is a top endurance athlete.

The Baggies fan has taken on the challenge of running every Great Run event this year in aid of the Albion Foundation.

The list of Blind Dave's races

He kicked off the first of 25 gruelling runs in Edinburgh back in January.

The two Birmingham runs at the weekend were the 21st and 22nd he has successfully negotiated.

Dave is heading to Portsmouth next weekend for another two runs before his punishing challenge concludes at the Great Ethiopian Run in November – just after he turns 60.

He said: “The Birmingham Marathon was great, we really enjoyed it.

“We did the marathon in a reasonable time – 4 hours 12 minutes which is a decent time for us.

“We had a few little pitstops and photos and had loads of fun.

“It was hard, but the streets were packed with loads of people prepared to support us.

“And the camaraderie from the runners was fantastic, the organisation was brilliant and it was great to start out at the Alexander Stadium.”

Blind Dave completes latest leg of gruelling challenge

For most runners, simply finishing a marathon is a moment to cherish and time to rest weary legs.

But Dave and his guide runners had a quick rest, a bite to eat and then were back out pounding the pavements.

He said: “We had around 30 minutes rest and got a bit of food in us then got to the start of the half.

“It was really hard work, I’ll make no bones about that and it was a bit stop-start.

“We’ve done the best part of 40 miles in a day and you can definitely feel it.

“But all in all it was a good day.”

Dave said he can’t believe how quickly the year has passed and how close he is to the finish line of his latest mammoth challenge.

He added: “I remember in January in Edinburgh for the first run thinking how many there were to do. But now it seems ridiculous, you think ‘how have we got this far already?’.

“It’s the middle of October and I don’t know where the year has gone.”

In total, when Dave has finished the race in Ethiopia he will have run two marathons, six half-marathons, two ten-mile events, ten 10ks, one five-mile race and four 5ks – more than 230 miles in total.

Blind Dave completes latest leg of gruelling challenge

Dave, who was diagnosed with retinitas pigmentosa aged 10 and lost his eyesight completely by his 20s, began fundraising for the Albion Foundation in 2015.

He completed the Marathon des Sables, dubbed the toughest footrace on earth, in the Sahara desert while not even the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon could hold him last June.

And he is the first blind runner to complete The 7s – seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

Dave has plenty of fond memories of his travels – as well as some he would rather forget.

He said: “The Edinburgh Winter Run was memorable because it started it all off, and the two marathons in Stirling – starting in a safari park was certainly different.

“The Manchester runs were a week after the tragedy (Manchester Arena bombing) so that was quite an emotional one.

“The Great North Run I’ve done 16 times now, it’s just one of those runs I love. And Birmingham was very special because it was the first international run.”

Blind Dave completes latest leg of gruelling challenge

He added: “At the Glasgow half marathon it absolutely hammered it down. It started with a sprinkle of rain, then the heavens opened. I was getting cold, I had run previously and the muscles were aching.

“Tony, one of my guides, was getting bored so decided to start a new game - how many puddles could he get the blind bloke to run through. I was soaked through by the end.

“I thought Ipswich was going to be a flat, fast course but they appeared to have changed the course at the last minute.

“At six miles we hit a hill that went to about nine miles. I thought ‘what has happened to this flat course?’.

“There has been a lot of laughs and a bit of pain.”

To sponsor Blind Dave visit justgiving.com/fundraising/blinddavegreatrunseries2017.