Friday 12 April 2013

Conquering Antarctica

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, April 12, 2013 with

There are many reasons why Bill Arthur could quite legitimately take a break and have this Sunday's The Canberra Times Marathon off.
The 62-year-old is legally blind, with bilateral optic atrophy since birth, although after 51 marathons on six continents that has hardly been a barrier before.
In August 2011, his knee packed it in while preparing for a half marathon, and the response was a procedure where the bone in the leg is cut, straightened and has a plate put on it, transferring the weight from "the bad side to the good side", as he puts it. He has run two marathons since the six-month recovery.
Bill Arthur from Watson is ready to run his 18th Canberra Marathon after recently running The Last Marathon in Antarctica.
Bill Arthur from Watson is ready to run his 18th Canberra Marathon. Photo: Jeffrey Chan
But perhaps most impressively, Sunday's marathon - Mr Arthur's 18th - comes only two weeks after he completed the Antarctica marathon on King George Island in sub-zero conditions.


Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/runner-breaks-expectations-as-he-takes-every-step-20130411-2hoox.html#ixzz2QCvDqo00


Bill used to run with the speedygeese at Dickson.