A COUPLE from York have achieved their dream of running marathons on all seven of the world’s continents.

Colin Lea, 52, and David Darton, 59, of Markham Street, off Haxby Road, have recently completed a marathon on Antarctica’s King George Island and another in Chile in South America to raise funds for MIND, the mental health charity.

Between 2007 and 2016, they ran in all six of the World Major Marathons in London, Chicago, New York, Boston, Berlin and Tokyo.

Completing the marathons in Antarctica and South America means they have now run on all seven continents around the world.

Colin said: “In the beginning when we first started running marathons it didn’t really cross our minds to run on all seven continents but over the years we thought it would be good to have a dream. It feels really good to have visited all the continents.”

Colin said the Antarctica marathon was “one of the toughest” they have ever done.

He added: “The weather had calmed down, it had stopped snowing. But it had started to thaw. There was slush and puddles.

“Some of the marathons we have done we are running with thousands of people. But there were only six of us doing this so although we all motivated each other there was not the motivation you can often get through the bigger marathons.”

When they first started running in Antarctica it was around -5C but Colin said it got colder later in the day. It was still light when they finished the marathon, even though it was past midnight.

Colin said he ran in base layers, t-shirt, thermal jacket, specially lined trousers with thermal layers underneath, a balaclava and trail running shoes.

So far, their runs in Antarctica and South America have helped them raise more than £570 for MIND.

Explaining why they chose to support MIND, Colin said: “I work as a health care assistant in mental health and David works for the General Medical Council.

“Through our jobs we are aware of how important access to services and support networks are for people suffering from mental health illnesses.”

Colin and David started running marathons 12 years ago and have completed 97 marathons in 47 countries.

This year, they hope to run their 98th, 99th and 100th marathons. They are aiming to take part in the Idaho Falls marathon in America on July 28 for their 100th marathon to coincide with David’s 60th birthday. They have not decided which two marathons they will enter before then.

They are both members of the local running club York Knavesmire Harriers.

Anyone who would like to support Colin and David and make a donation to MIND can do so by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/antarcticamarathon