Blind Dave 777 Countdown................................97 Days To Go

BLIND DAVE WANTS 777 RUNNERS

01-01-2008

With just 97 days to go before the start of Blind Dave Heeley’s 777 challenge, the West Bromwich marathon man is seeking 777 runners to join him on the final leg of his expedition in London.

By the time Dave rolls into the capital on April 13, he will have completed six marathons in six days on six continents. The aim is to ensure that the final event achieves the full fund-raising potential for his chosen charity Guide Dogs For The Blind – and that means getting a full complement of sponsored athletes on his side.

Although the deadline for entries to the Flora Marathon has now closed, many runners who’ve entered won’t yet have chosen a charity to support; the hope is that they can be persuaded to become part of Team Blind Dave and raise cash for his good cause.

One of his West Bromwich Harriers team-mates Karl Moore from Great Barr has already signed up, and says “I’m going there to do Dave proud. I’ll try and get as much money for Guide Dogs as I can. But I’m not going there just to jog around. I’m aiming for a time of 2 hours 20 minutes.”

Another member of Team Blind Dave is Phil Calcutt from Moseley, who works as a consultant for Sandwell Council’s Destination West Bromwich project.

He said, “I’ve never run a marathon before, and Dave challenged me to do it. I’m not sure I want to, but he’s such an inspirational figure I don’t see how I could refuse.”

If any Stirrer readers are planning to run the Flora London Marathon this year, or know anyone else who is, they can find out more about becoming a member of Dave’s team at http://www.realbuzz.com/microsites/guide_dogs/flm.php

Meantime, there’s good news about the man himself; after a week’s enforced lay-off, he’s back in training again with guide runner Malcolm Carr aka “Mad Mac”.

Dave reports that he ran eight miles around Sandwell Valley on Monday, a similar distance on a circuit encompassing the Burnt Tree and Birchley island yesterday, and then there’ll be a ten miler today.

“After that”, he says, “we’ll get serious again”.

To see a short film about Dave’s challenge click here

And for a longer version, click here

Support Dave by sponsoring him at http://www.justgiving.com/7mm

Show your appreciation of Dave’s efforts and ask him questions about his challenge at the Blind Dave Supporters Club section of our Message Board. And spread the word about this amazing challenge - please send a link from this story to your friends around the world.

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