Marathon man Steve Edwards aged 57 from the Cotswold village of Longborough is set to become the first person on the planet to average under 3hrs 20min for 900 official

marathon races this weekend.

The 57-year-old from Longborough, near Stow-On-The-Wold, runs his 900th 26.2-mile race on Saturday, February 22, at Walton on Thames.

It will be a landmark on an incredible journey that started back in 1988 after Steve embarked on the task of becoming the first person to run 500 official marathons under 3hrs 30min.

After achieving that feat in 2012, Steve decided to try and raise the bar even higher by pushing for even more records.

He has since set landmark records for running 600, 700 and 800 marathons in the fastest average finish times.

Out of his total of marathon finishes, he's run 325 sub 3hr 15mins, the most by any British athlete, 500 sub 3hr 20mins and nearly 800 sub 3hr 30mins, both of which are world bests.

His current average finish time for all 899 marathons is a staggering 3hrs 19min 18sec. 

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Steve, who runs for local club North Cotswold Tri & Run, said: "I know I'm not getting any younger and the wear and tear from almost 39 years of long distance running is now starting to take its toll.

"Although my finish times have slowed in recent months I'm absolutely delighted to have come this far with that sort of average finish time. I could never have imagined achieving that when I first started out.

"People ask what the secret is but to be honest there really isn't one, just plain old hard work and dedication.

"I do however owe a lot to my fantastic wife Teresa, she's supported me throughout and attends

almost every race I run, I know that I couldn't have achieved all that I have without her love and support".

Ultimately, Steve hopes he can push towards what many in the sport have described as the ultimate multi marathon world record of running 1,000 marathons averaging under 3hrs 30min, another feat that hasn't yet been achieved by anyone.

Steve described the last 100 races as the toughest he's ever run but knows the last 100 will be even tougher, not only physically but also mentally with the discipline of having to train day in, day out, week after week for another two or three years whilst trying to remain injury free and healthy.

Steve is fundraising for Kate's Home Nursing charity. To support the 1,000-marathon challenge, go to justgiving.com/teamedwards1000