Second marathon for paralysed former rugby player

Fifteen years after an injury which left Gareth Rees paralysed from the neck down and he is attempting his second marathon.

In 2011, while playing for Stratford-upon-Avon Rugby Football Club (RFC), the then 24-year-old suffered a spinal cord injury in an awkward fall.

Since then, he has been supported by the Rugby Football Union's Injured Players Foundation (IPF), which he has chosen to raise money for with an attempt at the Paris 2026 Marathon.

Rees, from Warwick, was part of history in 2024 when he and his team of runners completed the London Marathon in the first year it allowed wheelchair participants who could not self-propel.

In Paris, Rees will be part of a team of five, with four runners taking it in turns to push him around the course. Two are former Stratford RFC teammates.

Rees said: "Neil Truscott and Flo Viala have both done one London marathon each, and are just getting in training and working hard.

"As two people who still play regularly play second team for Stratford, they've both had to reduce their game time this season ahead of the marathon just in case."

"Marathon enthusiast" Wendy Woodhouse, a colleague, and Rees's cousin Darren Cooper will also assist.

The 39-year-old said the speed he could reach in his wheelchair was limited, "so to be pushed around by a team of four runners in the middle of London is fantastic".

"I'm hoping Paris will be the same - every single person there is positive and cheering you on."

He said his chosen charity, the IPF, had paid his family's travel costs to visit during his year-long stay at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

It has also helped buy a specially-adapted home and vehicle and paid for adapted trips and experiences he previously thought were out of reach.

He was among five injured players and carers to go on a fully-funded trip to Andorra, "to get us back up and doing things and enjoying living on the edge again," he said.

His wheelchair has been specially created for racing, as a normal wheelchair is too heavy to be pushed and electric motors are not allowed.

SA Mogg, a metal fabricator near Alcester, built it free of charge. Their metal supplier also donated materials to the cause.

Rees described it as "a chaise-longue on wheels". "The idea is that I'm a bit lower and a bit more aerodynamic and with the hope that you are comfortable for the full time."

The team have set themselves a target of beating their London Marathon time of just over five-and-a-half hours.

"But we don't really know what the route is like yet," Rees said, adding there would be additional logistical challenges in getting to the start line.

They will travel to Paris on 10 April, with the marathon itself on 12 April.

IPF director, Karen Hood, said the charity was "incredibly proud" of Rees.

"Alongside raising vital funds for the Injured Players Foundation, challenges like Gareth's help to raise awareness of the charity and support available," she said.

She added, while injuries like the one he had sustained were "extremely rare": "It's important the rugby community know we are here if needed."