Having agreed to take on the Brathay Challenge for the second year in a row, 45 year old Steve will attempt to run the fastest ever cumulative time for all ten marathons - a distance of more than 260 miles.

With less than a week to recover, Steve will then don his running shoes again and head for the Western Isles - a place he last visited in 1992 while attempting to break the world record for running the most marathons in a year.

Having also set himself the task of running 500 marathons by the time he is 50 in 2012, Steve explains that his 'extreme' running is all done for charity: "I guess you already know about my ongoing lifetime challenge of 500 marathons by 2012, something I'm also doing to raise awareness and money for the Spinal Injuries Association. As well as the personal challenge itself, charity fund raising has always been one of the many reasons why I run. For the 10 in 10 challenge in May, all the runners will be raising money for the Brathay Hall Trust."

The Brathay Hall Trust is a charity which develers personal development programmes for disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.
Describing more about the ten marathons in ten days challenge, Steve states on his fundraising website: "One marathon is hard enough, however, this year, I will be trying to set a new record by attempting to run the fastest ever cumulative time for 10 marathons in 10 days on an accurately measured UK Athletics certified marathon course.

"The challenging 26.2 mile route follows a complete circuit of Lake Windermere, (England's largest lake) which boasts many hills! Therefore, running it 10 times in succession equates to a total of 262 exhausting miles in all."

In preparation for this event and for the Point 1 Callanish Stones Marathon and the North Harris Trust Marathon, Steve has already run more than 1000 miles in training since the start of the year.
And although the prospect of ten marathons seems daunting, he says he couldn't resist a return trip to the Western Isles.

"I did the Benbecula Marathon back in June 1992, that was the year I set a world record for running the most marathons in a year, a total of
87, not something I'll probably repeat! I remember the marathon on the island quite well. I think I was one of ten runners in the full marathon and finished 1st in a time of about 3:10 but couldn't wait to pick up my prize, I had to catch the ferry back to the mainland as I had another marathon scheduled in Poole, Dorset the following day. So this year, even though the Hebridean double starts only six days after the 10 in 10 finishes, I couldn't resist the opportunity of taking a trip back to the islands to run a marathon again, to do two on two of the islands is a bonus."

To find out more about Steve's upcoming challenges visit www.justgiving.com/steve_edwards and www.justgiving.com/stevewedwards10in10 or www.brathaychallenge.com.

Steve is joining a growing number of multiple marathon runners who are heading for Lewis and Harris in May to take on the Point 1 Callanish Stones Marathon and the North Harris Trust Marathon.

A large number of members of the Marathon 100 Club have already entered and world record holder, Horst Preisler, who has run the most marathons is also on the entry list.

For more information on the Point 1 Callanish Stones Marathon or the North Harris Trust Marathon visit www.srac.org.uk or contact Tony Robson on 07786686523 or email tony.robson@which.net.

The North Harris Trust Marathon is also open to walkers.