Darren Edwards becomes the first person to complete the World Marathon Challenge in a wheelchair
Since sustaining a life-changing injury after a climbing accident in 2017, Darren has completed some epic challenges - whether that be freediving to depths of over 30ft on one breath, or becoming the first disabled person to kayak from Land’s End to John O’ Groats – a distance of over 1,400-kilometres across some of Europe’s most challenging coastal waters.
At the end of January this year, Darren embarked on his biggest challenge to date. Crossing the finish line after a gruelling 168 hours, he became the first disabled person to complete the iconic World Marathon Challenge. That’s seven marathons across seven continents in just seven days, travelling from Antarctica, to Africa, to Australia, to Asia, to Europe, to South America and concluding in North America.
Since sustaining his injury, “it has been a gradual process”, says Darren. “A process of rediscovering how capable you can be with a disability.”
After completing this epic challenge, we asked Darren to share his top adventure tips:
Q: Please can you tell us one word that sums up your relationship with the outdoors?
A: Essential.
Q: Tell us why you love spending time outdoors?
A: It is the only time when I feel truly alive.
Q: What would be your top tip to getting started on a new adventure?
A: Don't be afraid to start small, to take small steps…
Q: What’s the favourite destination you've visited on an adventure?
A: The Icelandic glaciers.
Darren will be sharing tales of astonishing feats of human endurance in Brighton at the beginning of March where he’ll be fresh off the plane from his most recent adventure, and Canterbury in June - both as part of the Kendal Mountain Festival Tour 2023. If you can’t join us on Tour, you can also catch Darren in conversation with former rugby star turned adaptive mountaineer Ed Jackson and paralympic cyclist Steve Bate sharing tales of joy and resilience as part of the Adaptive Adventure session on the Kendal Mountain Player.
Darren is also raising money for the Armed Forces Para-snowsports Team, a charity which supports wounded, injured and sick military personnel, and has raised £53,000 so far - halfway there to his fundraising goal! If you would like to donate to this fantastic cause, click here.
Tickets are available via our Tour website.