Terminally ill man to do marathon in wheelchair

A man with motor neurone disease is taking on a marathon in a wheelchair in Derby for charity.

Liam Blaney, 55, of Nuthall, in Nottingham, said he was diagnosed with the terminal condition just before Christmas in 2021 and has used a wheelchair ever since.

On Sunday, the Derby County fan will complete the challenge with the help of family and friends, who will push him.

The former karate instructor said his main goal was to raise awareness of the illness, but he also hoped to make £5,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

At the end of the 26.2 miles at the velodrome at Derby Arena, he and his team will complete an extra mile at Pride Park stadium.

He said: "The last time I remember standing up was at Pride Park cheering [Derby] on at the end of the season.

"To finish my last charity event there by the pitch will be amazing. It means such a lot to me."

Mr Blaney, who was born in Allenton, said he went to his GP in December 2021 as he was having trouble walking.

He was sent straight to the Royal Derby Hospital.

“I came out of there five days later with a terminal diagnosis of motor neurone disease," he said.

“I was thinking I’d be lucky to see that Christmas."

He added: "I used to be a karate instructor, training six days a week, to sitting in a wheelchair virtually overnight."

The father-of-one said one of the worst things with the condition was "you don’t have a good day. You know tomorrow is going to be worse".

“But we just need to push on and don’t let anything stop you."

Talking about the marathon, Mr Blaney said: "I will start it off.

"I will do as much as I can - my arms are 80 to 90% gone now - that's not going to be too far.

"But I have a fantastic team of family, friends and work colleagues who are going to push me round.

"We need to do 170 laps of the track. Everybody will do it in slots of three or four laps, so 1km at a time.

"There will also be people walking with me, keeping up my spirits."

This will be Mr Blaney's third charity challenge since his diagnosis.

In 2022, he was pushed up Snowdon in his wheelchair, and in 2023 he skydived from an aeroplane.

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