Blind Dave to complete gruelling series

Dave has taken part in 24 races this year as part of the Great Run series, which has seen him cover more than 240 miles.

He is raising money for the Albion Foundation and is set to raise around £30,000 by the time he finishes.

Dave said: “We are all looking forward to taking part. It will be a bit warmer than back home and I’ll be coming back with a tan.”

The run is in the country’s capital Addis Ababa and will be at an altitude of 8,000ft. Dave will be joined by his guides Garry Wells and Tony Ellis. He says marathon running is ‘massive’ in Ethiopia and around 50,000 people will be taking part.

The trip will be extra special as he will celebrate his 60th birthday in Ethiopia, which he ‘never imagined’ doing. He turns 60 today.

Dave is an avid endurance athlete. He has previously completed Marathon des Sables - dubbed the toughest footrace on earth - in the Sahara desert; the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon in the cold waters off San Francisco; and he became the first blind runner to complete The 7s – seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

He was flying out from Birmingham last night. He was due to stop over in Abu Dhabi before catching another flight to Ethiopia, where he was set to land around lunch time today. Speaking ahead of the trip, Dave said: “We don’t really know what the arrangements are for the run yet. All I know is it is a 10k run at 8,000 feet. It will be hot. This is something I have never done before. I’m told there is around 50,000 people running. It is a big thing out there in Addis Ababa.

“I know someone who did it a few years back and he told me they are running fanatics over there. He said there was sheep and goats and chickens also running.”

The race was formed in 2001. It was founded by Ethiopian long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, who is an Olympic gold medallist, alongside English economist Peter Middlebrook and Abi Masefield.

“I could get a chance to meet Haile,” said Dave.

The route takes runners through Meskel Square in the city. It will begin at around 9am, where the temperature will be around 15 degrees before rising to 23 by midday.

Dave has raised more than £3m for charity since his fundraising began and has had a film made about him.

For this year’s series challenge, Dave has raised more than £4,500 on his JustGiving page but is due to receive a £25,000 donation from Pertemps – which will sponsor him £1,000 for each race - upon completion of the race in Ethiopia. Donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/blinddavegreatrunseries2017