Australian woman set to make history at wheelchair marathon challenge across 7 countries!

Parasports January 24, 2018

STEVE Birnie is known as a marathon man but his next challenge is all set to enter history books.

The 54-year-old Australian is about to set out on 42-km marathons on seven continents in just seven days and he will be pushing 26-year-old Johanna Garvin, who is set to create a record as the first person to compete in the World Marathon Challenge in a wheelchair.

They will first fly out to South Africa and from there to a Russian research base in Antarctica to start the first marathon on 30 January alongside over 50 other runners.

The group is hoping to raise about $50,000 during the challenge to support the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

Johanna’s wheelchair has been equipped with 10-cm thick tyres, with special grips so it becomes easier to push over the ice. They plan to also run in Perth, Lisbon, Cartagena in Colombia and finally Miami.

Johanna has cerebral palsy after she suffered a stroke as a newborn. She will be pushed a total of 295km across seven continents within 168 hours. To help go to: cpfundraising.org.au/fundraisers/johannagarvin

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