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Raise Your Game: How did you first realise you were losing your sight?

Dave Heeley: I was born with a disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), which is hereditary. My granddad was blind and it was passed down in the family genes. I wasn't diagnosed until I was about 10-years-old because, in those days, the technology wasn't available.

I used to run into cars and trees and fall over a lot, so everybody used to think I was clumsy. When I was diagnosed, and was told that I was losing my sight, I realised that's why I had never been able to see at night. I'd always been blind at night but, until I was told, I thought that was what everyone saw.

Through my teens my vision got progressively worse. Through my twenties it nosedived. One morning I looked across the street and I could see the gutter on the opposite side of the road, in the afternoon I could only see the white line in the middle of the road, and the following morning I could only see the gutter on the near side of the road.

It didn't happen that quickly but it was that kind of sensation. Suddenly the house across the road wasn't there. It happened that slowly that you didn't realise what was happening until it'd actually happened.

RYG: Has being blind stopped you from doing anything you wanted to do?

DH: I still enjoy life and I haven't let it hinder me in what I want to do. I've probably done more with my life since I lost my sight than I did when I was sighted. If I'd have been sighted I'd have been down the pub or sat in front of the television, and I wouldn't have done half of it.

RYG: What motivated you to attempt the Seven Magnificent Marathons challenge?

DH: I wanted to build awareness for blind people and guide dogs. Having a guide dog changed my life. We did three weeks in a training centre, then I came out in charge of the dog.

It gave me a Rolls Royce in mobility. It gave me independence, freedom, confidence. It just enhanced my life. I've fundraised for them and created awareness as much as I can as a big thank you.

I've done numerous events for guide dogs - the London marathon, the New York marathon, etc. I'm always looking for a challenge that's slightly different. I hand people sponsor forms every year and they say 'I'll give you a quid,' but they're probably thinking 'Not again.'

I thought the seven continents challenge would get people excited. The seven marathons challenge was talked about by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The fact that he was the first able bodied person to do it made me think 'Wow, that is a challenge.' I thought it would create a lot of awareness and funding, so it had to be done. The seed was sown and, on 13 April 2008, I did it.

RYG: How did you navigate the course?

DH: I'm always attached to a friend of mine, Mac, who's my guide runner. We've been running together now for five years. He was my talking guide dog for the week (laughs).

RYG: How important is it for you and Mac to communicate when you're running?

DH: We've been running together now for many years, so a lot of the communication is silent. We have our ways and means. Mac has trouble with his left and right, if you want the honest truth, so it's easier for him to tug me left or push me right (laughs).

If there's a kerb he says 'Up and down a kerb.' If we've got to take an immediate left or right he'll push or pull me. We can go for miles without talking and still navigate, because we've got a silent code.

RYG: How do you communicate with your guide dog?

DH: 99% of it is through verbal commands. The dog and I are a partnership. The dog is trained to do left, right, sit, stand and everything else.

Once we become a partnership, the dog is there to guide me from A to B safely. My role in the partnership is to know where we want to be going. It's up to me to negotiate the lefts and the rights and to find where we're going.

Occasionally, if you tell them to find left or find right, they go on a little trek, especially if there's a sausage roll on the floor (laughs). You know if you're veering of target, so you gently pull the lead the way you need them to go.

RYG: How important is it that you work as a team?

DH: It's based completely on trust. Any blind person will tell you, you have to put total trust into the dog. You also have to trust your own judgement.

A lot of people come up to me and say 'Your dog can't see around the truck.' It's nothing to do with seeing around a truck when you're crossing the road. It's the dog's role to get me safely to the kerb, it's then my role to judge whether we can cross the road safely. I give the command and he or she will go. It's a team built on trust from each side.

RYG: What route did you take on the seven continents challenge?

DH: We did the Falklands first, which is Antarctica. Then we went to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, which was South America. We then flew onto LA and North America. The following day we went on to Sydney and Australasia. We then went to Dubai and Asia, then to Tunisia and Africa. We finished at the London marathon in Europe, seven days after starting.

RYG: How did it feel to complete such an amazing challenge?

DH: I'm very proud to say that Mac and I are two of four people that have achieved that challenge. I'm the first blind, or disabled person, in history to do it.

It gives me a nice feeling but, what it's also done, is create awareness for blind people. It's proved that, if you want to do something, if you've got a dream or an ambition, sight loss is no barrier. You can do it. To be a part of passing that message onto people makes it worth every step.

RYG: What did you say to yourself to keep on going?

DH: I had a laminated photograph of my family hanging on a chain around my neck. Every time I felt a little bit tired I used to touch the photograph and tell myself that my family loved me, and they wanted me to complete the challenge.

Added to that, there were lots of people sponsoring me. There were lots of people back home who were supporting us to build awareness. That's what motivated me.

People have asked 'Did you ever consider stopping?' 'Did you ever think you weren't going to do it?' The answer to that is no. Not once did I say to myself 'I can't go on.' I used to say 'I'm tired,' but you'd have people running with us at different points around the world, and they would talk to us and give us a lift.

Psychologically it helps to break things down. I used to do reps in weight training. Instead of counting in reps of ten, I used to count in three reps of three and push hard with the last one. If you break it down so you're only counting up to three, it helps. I broke each marathon down like that. If you can keep your mind happy your body will keep going.

RYG: What are your future ambitions?

DH: I'm doing the London sprint triathlon in August 2008. I'll be swimming in Canary Wharf and by about three in the afternoon I reckon I'll be on the Irish coast (laughs). Mac is a terrible swimmer. I do three strokes and I'm about half a mile in front of him. He can't tell his left from his right, his swimming's rubbish and I can just see it going wrong (laughs).

RYG: What advice would you give to young people who want to take on a challenge?

DH: If you want to do something, just put your mind to it and you can do it. There's no such word as can't. If you want to run a mile, start from the beginning. Walk 100 yards and run 100 yards. Rome wasn't built in a day and you're not going to run a marathon in the afternoon after training in the morning.

It takes time. If you want to do something you've got to get on with it. If you want to write a novel, it's not going to be done in a day. You've got to pace yourself, gear yourself up, get yourself focused and say 'This is something that I really want to do, and I'm going to do it.' Whether you want to run a marathon, climb Mount Everest or just learn to read and write, take it a step at a time.