It Could Be Close For Steve Edwards

5 JUL2011

It looks as if Steve Edwards' personal marathon challenge - running 500 sub 3:30 marathons by his 50th birthday - could go right down to the wire. The 48 year old athlete who represents Bourton Roadrunners in Gloucestershire has now ran a total of 532 official marathon races of which 458 have been completed under the target 3hrs 30min. However that means 42 events still to be completed before his landmark birthday in Olympic year - 2012.

So far this year, he's travelled to Malta, Ireland and most parts of the UK to compete in 14 marathon races where his finish times have averaged 3hrs 10min but more importantly have all been under 3hrs 30min. With at least another 12 marathons scheduled in places like Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man and closer to home in Snowdonia and the Langdales before year end, Steve could if all goes to plan end the year having completed 470 sub 3:30s.

However, it would still leave him with the unenviable task of trying to run another 30 in 2012 to achieve his goal. In his own words, Steve admits: "This is going to be extremely tight, I was out of action for six months in 2010 with a stress fracture to my ankle and during this period missed about 10 races. Ultimately that could cost me, however, when you attempt something this big, that's going to have taken 24 years plus, you've got to expect things to go wrong and I guess having made the challenge harder by insisting they were all sub 3:30, I always knew it would go down to the wire!".

The challenge continues and Steve's dream of a personal olympic legacy remains alive, for further information, please contact Steve direct below. Follow Steve's progress on Twitter @teamedwards500.