It was mission accomplished for 'Team Edwards' at the Milton Keynes Marathon. Steve Edwards' 1,000th marathon was completed in 4:02:57 to secure the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the fastest aggregate time for running 1000 marathons (male) of 3:21:47.

Steve's epic 43-year journey started at Coventry in 1981 when he was just 18 and finished aged 61 and proudly wearing race number 1000 with tears of joy in the glorious setting of Stadium:MK on Bank Holiday Monday 6 May 2024. The total racing distance covered was 42,195 kilometres – 2,120 metres more than the Earth's equatorial circumference!

After the race, Steve, from Longborough, near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, said: "Today was the finale to what has been an incredible 43-year journey, an end of an era for Team Edwards and we can't quite believe that it's now all over. I don't mind admitting that it's been extremely difficult in recent years with wear and tear and injury taking its toll. There are so many people I would like to thank, friends, supporters, and all my sponsors, but the biggest thank you goes to the better half of Team Edwards, my lovely wife Teresa. None of this would have been possible without her dedicated and loving support".

The original plan had been to complete the 1,000th marathon at Manchester on 3 April 2022, before his 60th birthday but injuries, Covid restrictions, and grief when his father passed away in November 2023, meant a revised target with Milton Keynes – where Steve has run more of his marathons than anywhere else – became the new finish line.

We caught up with Steve last month as he was close to reaching his target. At that time he was on 997 marathons and ran his 998th marathon in London (3:53:48) on 21 April and his 999th marathon at a special 'The Godfather 999' event promoted by Saturn Running at Staines on 27 April, in 4:07:56. The final two races are his only marathon times outside four hours, as Steve has been struggling with a hip injury sustained in his 996th marathon, but this did not affect his amazing overall average finish time as the GWR includes two earlier 50K ultras run in faster times.

This was Steve's tenth GWR and his other records include running the most official marathons in 12 months (87); the fastest 10 marathons in 10 days (35hrs 20mins), and the fastest average times for 600 (3:13:46), 700 (3:15:25), 800 (3:17:03) and 900 marathons (3:19:01). Steve's first 500 marathons averaged 3:18 and his second 500 were completed in an average of 3:24!

Throughout this journey, Steve has been supported by his wife, and together as Team Edwards they have raised over £10,000 for Kate’s Home Nursing, the charity based in Gloucestershire providing palliative home care for terminally ill patients where Teresa has volunteered her time to support the nursing team for many years. You can donate to Team Edwards' cause via JustGiving here.

Steve Edwards' only parkrun was a 20:20 at Kingsbury Water in 2014; his 10K PB is 37:50 and he has run more than 40 miles in six-hour events on four occasions between 2017 and 2020. He will be forever recognised as 'The Godfather' and the ultimate multi-marathon world record holder.

Photos courtesy Thomas Bone