Antony Read - Have Leg Will Run

As many of you will know Antony ran the London Marathon last year and whilst feeling disappointed at not achieving his target of running in under 4 hours, for someone with only one leg I think he did exceedingly well. This year he is taking part again and hopes to achieve his goal with a target time of 3.50.

Antony has been a keen runner since school, running his first marathon at 17 and 18 in 3 hours 5 mins. A hit and run motorcycle accident in 1980 resulted in his lower leg being amputated in 1981. He started running again in 1984 but found that after about 3 miles he had problems with the stump. Luckily this did not prevent him enjoying trials riding and skiing.

By 1995 he was having serious problems with running and had to give up, but in 1996 he heard about a new leg that had been developed. By 1997 he was the proud owner of this new leg and found that he was able to start running again with his sights set on running the 1998 London Marathon. Unfortunately further problems with the stump meant a break from running for a short period. Careful training including several half marathons soon had him ready for the "big one".

He started with the Sub 4 Pacing Group but had a very slow start, having to continually dodge back and forth past slower runners. This dodging was to cause severe pain towards the end of the marathon. Due to the slow start they had to run faster to maintain their target time and after 15 miles Antony realised he would have to slow down. After 18 miles the dodging at the start began to have its toll. His official time was 4 hours 19 minutes, with an actual running time of 4.06, only just outside the target. The leg stood up very well with the stump being comfortable all the way with only one blister on it and 9 on his foot!

Antony has entered the London Marathon this year, raising money for Whizz-Kidz setting himself a target time of 3.50. It took 15 years to realise his dream of running the marathon again because the technology was not there for him to achieve it. For kids who only have basic wheelchairs the technology is there and it is only money preventing them from seeing their dreams come true.