Athletics: Blind athlete Simon to run 250km through the Namibian Desert - unaided

Doncaster based ultra-endurance athlete, Simon Wheatcroft is on the way to becoming the first blind man to run a 4 Deserts Race solo across the Namibian Desert.

Simon is the winner of IG’s Achieve the Extraordinary Competition after winning the public vote earlier this year. The competition marked IG’s third year as partner of Harlequins RFC, and asked rugby fans what extraordinary goal they’d wanted to accomplish but never had the opportunity to do.

Now in training, Simon visited the team’s training centre to gather professional advice and support. Whilst there, Simon put the Harlequins’ players through their paces in a series of increasingly difficult tasks, all whilst blindfolded to give them a taste of the biggest challenge Simon faces in his training and everyday life.

See Simon challenge the Quins players here

Constantly seeking to test the boundaries, Simon has previously ran from Boston to New York, and competed in the New York Marathon. This next challenge starts on May 1^st and will see him run 250km through the Namibian Desert over the course of a single week, using nothing but the feel underfoot and GPS technology to guide him.

IG and Harlequins are now working closely with Simon to provide the support needed for him to go on and conquer his incredible goal. To follow or find out more about Simon’s journey visit: www.igachievetheextraordinary.com