Disabilities should not be 'isolating' says Paralympian who ran 100 marathons

RICHARD

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

Whitehead had never run a mile in his life when he decided to take on the New York Marathon in 2004 with a double bilateral knee amputation.Born and raised in Nottingham, the now-Paralympian continued to live his life without limits, despite his disability.

Showing his true determination, Richard trained by running on his knees using sports cups ahead of his first 26-mile race and only received prosthetic running legs 13 days before.

Twenty-one years later, Richard's running journey has come full circle.

He has now having completed his 100th marathon in New York in November in two hours 57 minutes, compared to 2004's five hours 19 minutes.

"When I finished the marathon in 2004, I thought it was probably going to be my one and only, so to now have done 100, it's pretty crazy," the 49-year-old said.

"I never thought I would get to run 100 marathons. When I ran my first one, I did it for charity and for my personal accomplishment.