As the crowds cheered and the athletes toiled in yesterday's London Marathon, one man, was making his way into the history books as the first blind person to run seven marathons in seven days.

Guide dog owner, Dave Heeley, 50, from West Bromwich in the West Midlands, collapsed over the finish line into the arms of waiting friends and family having covered a total distance of 183 miles in approximately 168 hours – taking more than 250,000 steps.

The Flora London Marathon was the last 26.2 miles of Heeley’s gruelling test of human endurance, as he fulfilled his ambition to run the globe to prove that sight loss is no barrier to human achievement while raising money for Guide Dogs in the UK.

Heeley, whose sight deteriorated through his teens to the point where he was registered blind in 1986, said: “I will carry every single person that joined me for the last 26.2 miles of the challenge in my heart, as I succeeded in proving to the world that sight loss is no barrier to independence and human achievement.

“Having suffered sight loss, I know how terrifying life can seem. I have been fortunate enough to have had my life transformed by guide dog ownership. I have gone from being too nervous to step outside my own front door to taking on the challenge of running a marathon on every continent on the globe – and that is all thanks to Guide Dogs.”

Heeley and his running guide, Malcolm Carr, 44, also from West Bromwich, set out on their epic journey just after midnight on Monday April 7, from Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands completing the first marathon in 4hr 14min.

After every stage it was necessary for the pair to take an ice bath to aid muscle recovery and to take on board up to 6000 calories a day. The recommended daily amount for a man is around 2000 and 2500.

They completed the second leg in Rio De Janeiro (South America) in the same 24hour period in 4hr 45min, and crossed the line in Los Angeles (North America) on Tuesday April 8 in 4hr 35min.

Travelling on to Sydney on April 10 (Australasia) the pair finished in 4hr 40min, before running in Dubai (Asia) on Friday in 4hr 55min and completing the sixth leg in Tunis (Africa) on Saturday in 4hr 40min.

Paula Radcliffe, the marathon world record holder, said: “I hope thousands of people have been inspired by Dave's amazing ambition to complete seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days. It is amazing to see that sight loss does not prevent enjoyment and achievement in long distance running.”

The achievement was all the more impressive because only two other people have ever completed the challenge. Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud were the first to complete this ultimate endurance test in 2003.

Fiennes said: "As one of only two people to have completed seven marathons in seven days on seven continents, I can tell you that it is perhaps the ultimate in physical endurance."