LIVERPOOL / WIRRAL Duo Open Our Eyes
John Courtney and James Hughes are genuine running stars. The Liverpool father and son team has beaten the odds to record some very special achievements ...
JAMES HUGHES and John Courtney are legends on the Merseyside running scene. The pair has overcome near impossible obstacles including James’ blindness to com- plete hundreds of 10Ks, half and full mara- thons, winning a place in the hearts of thou- sands of runners along the way. Their remarkable story began when a 14-year-old boy arrived at the Courtney home with severe physical and learning difficulties. James Hughes had spent his life in children’s homes up until that point and was described as having ‘complex needs’. Although the early days were tough going James started to show improvement in both abilities and behaviour under the care of fos- ter parents John and Sylvia. From an early stage James showed an interest in sport and physical activity although he was physically undeveloped and unfit - he struggled to walk a few 100 yards. John Courtney describes a technique he used to develop James’ physical capacity: “I found a couple of hills near our home and James and I used to walk down them backwards to extend James’s range of movement. Soon we were walking and jogging longer distances and James was spending more time at the local sports centre - he loved swimming. “A few years passed and we started to take
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part in local races. Maybe the Four Villages Half Marathon was our first real test. James was 17 by now and it was a triumph to com- plete that first half marathon; even though we took over 3 hours we got a great reception at the finish. Following that success we headed to the other side of the country for the Humber Bridge Marathon. I wasn’t sure what was ahead of us but again we made it round - 6 hours 47 minutes. “That was the start of a great adventure which saw us run regularly at London Marathon where we raised much needed funds for the Royal Society for the Blind school at Wavertree and we also visited Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin for their marathons. A trip to Canada was another highlight as was being invited to carry the Olympic torch in 2012. Maybe our proudest moment was when James met the Queen at his school. “Everything we have achieved has been without James being tied to me, he basically runs on my shoulder, just a couple of strides away.
Even though John Courtney is now 76-years-old, the successes just keep coming. This summer the indomitable duo completed the Tour Of Merseyside - six races in seven days over 52 miles. John enthused about the event: “The Tour was special. The same
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