UK runner completes 500 sub 3:30 Marathons...

After 24 years, the 49-year-old Steve Edwards has completed his amazing lifelong dream – to run 500 marathons, each in a time of under three-and-a-half hours.

At the recent Fox & 40 Marathon in Milton Keynes, he ran three hours and 14 minutes to complete the remarkable feat. In a post race interview, Steve said...."Once I settled down into my run I was okay. It only started to get to me in my last mile. It was in that final mile I started to get quite emotional. It was nice to cross the line with everybody cheering and taking pictures. Bourton Road Runners (BRR) presented me with a plaque. That’s something that I will treasure for the rest of my life."

Steve ran his first race in 1981 aged just 18 when he completed the Coventry Marathon in 3:38. At the age of 28, he broke a world record for running 87 marathons in a year. His marathon running has taken him to 27 countries including the USA and New Zealand and he has run the London marathon 17 times. To date, he has run 577 official marathon races.

In another interview, Steve was asked about whether he thought about stopping in a race?.........."Yes, the Stevenage marathon in 1994. It was a two-lap course on footpaths and the most boring marathon I ever ran. Halfway around I thought: ‘What am I doing?' and walked back to the car. I sat with my wife, Teresa, and had a cup of coffee and a Mars bar and said: ‘I can't be bothered'. After 10 minutes I thought I'd better go and finish it!"

When asked about his plans for the future, he said......."I've been winding people up and saying this might be my last ever marathon. But running is a way of life and I can't ever imagine not doing it. The furthest I've run is 50 miles and I've had friends who say you're not a real runner until you've done a 100-mile race, so that's a possibility. I'm also tempted by 12-hour and 24-hour events. I wonder, with the endurance I've built up over the years, what I might be able to do. I could have a hidden talent. It's a totally different discipline but even if it went horribly wrong, at least I've tried."