A car crash in his 20s left Paul Barclay without his vision, but it never took away his passion for sport.
Now, four decades later, the Christchurch runner has set himself the challenge to be the first Kiwi disabled athlete to complete the Abbott World Major 6 Star Series.
Barclay has already completed Berlin, Boston, London, and New York marathons and is now preparing to take on Chicago in October followed by Tokyo in March next year.
He said he has always held a strong passion for all sports, and his life changing incident never stopped him from wanting to succeed.
Barclay is now self-employed, directing Vision Without Limits.
“You don’t know what you can do, until you try."
He also represented New Zealand through blind cricket and goalball for over a decade before he got into running.
"In life, I need goals, I need things to focus on.”
Barclay lost two long-term friends in the first week of 2025 and he is now using their memory as motivation to keep striving.
His running path is assisted with running guides, providing navigation safety, also giving him reassurance throughout the run.
A Give A Little Page has been set up to support the voluntary guides, helping cover costs of marathon trips.
“My aim has always been that it won't cost them anything towards their flights and accommodation.
“For me to run, I need someone to run with, and guides have their own lives.”
He also said that he needs to run three or four times a week in the build-up to these marathons.
"Without the guides, I couldn’t do it.”
Barclay said he wants to showcase that with the right motivation, support and opportunities, anything can be done.
“It’s just one step in front of the other and the first one is the hardest step to take.”
