Adventure trail runner Simon Morris has successfully completed 7 gruelling marathons between November 2009 and May 2010, and in the process has become the first person ever to run on behalf of Down Syndrome International (DSi).
On Saturday 22nd May Simon completed his seventh marathon in a time of 5 hours and 11 minutes and finished in a very respectable 31st position. The latest event was held in Exmoor, Devon, UK.
Simon raised considerable funds for his chosen charity DSi, in addition to completing Endurancelife’s prestigious Cliff Bar 7x7x7 Challenge for the first time.
Endurancelife are a UK based adventure sports company, well know for organising innovative event formats, and the Coastal Trail Series 2010 comprises a trail running series along Britain’s spectacular coastline, involving 7 stages on a wild, varied cross section of landscapes and terrain. Competitors are able to take part in as many or as few 10km, half marathon or marathon events as they wish in 7 locations over the course of 7 months, with the most adventurous such as Simon taking on the 7x7x7 Challenge; the complete set of 7 marathons over the period, representing a truly remarkable achievement.
Simon, from London, England, has completed a number of international marathon events in the past including the 2009 Rome Marathon and Flora London Marathon on behalf of the UK Down’s Syndrome Association. He posted times of around 3 hours in both of these events, and he relished the prospect of testing himself in the coastal events “The 7 runs were a real test unlike any other I have faced before with serious training required and some tough courses. The wild and hilly terrain is a much tougher challenge than road racing, which might explain my much slower times!”.
Simon has 2 good friends in the UK who have a brother and a sister with Down syndrome and he is more than happy to lend his much needed support to the DSi cause “I have run for the UK DSA previously and a friend made me aware of the good work DSi were doing to help improve the lives of people with Down syndrome worldwide. I am delighted to help out in any way I can and hopefully I can complete the series, raise some money and also help raise the profile of DSi”.
The Coastal Trail Series events took place on the following dates:
7/11/2009 Jurassic Coast, Dorset (27th position in 4 hours 56 minutes)
5/12/2009 Gower, Wales (43rd position in 5 hours 1 minute)
23/1/2010 Portland, England (36th position in 4 hours 37 minutes)
27/2/2010 South Devon, England (45th position in 5 hours 1 minute)
27/3/2010 Pembrokeshire, Wales (27th position in 4 hours 26 minutes)
24/4/2010 Cornwall, England (28th position in 4 hours 59 minutes)
22/5/2010 Exmoor, England (31st position in 5 hours 11 minutes
DSi would like to congratulate Simon on an incredible achievement in completing the Series. We are very grateful to him for his continued and kind support.
If you would like to sponsor Simon, visit his Just Giving page.
