Rehasense UK supports London Marathon fundraiser with Track Wheel attachment
Medical equipment supplier Rehasense UK has announced that it will be supporting Dan Metcalfe as he prepares to take part in this year’s London Marathon in aid of Spinal Research.
Dan is a T8 complete paraplegic with no movement or feeling from below his stomach and no abdominal muscles following a motorcycle accident in 2014.
He was determined to maintain as active a lifestyle as possible after his accident and took up various sports including hand cycling where he rose to be ranked fifth in the UK, and scuba diving – for which he became a world record holder.
His toughest challenge though, says Dan, is to complete the London marathon in his manual wheelchair. He commented: “I have often thought about the London Marathon but decided I would avoid any big challenges in 2023 – well that was the plan!”
Dan started off training twice a week pushing and once a week in the gym, then in March increased to doing two short three mile pushes and one long 8-12 miles a week.
By the end of March he aims to be at half marathon distance or beyond and may even look to take part in a half marathon.
He is the first to admit that he would not be achieving his targets without the backing of Rehasense who have been supporting him and donated one of their carbon fibre Track Wheel attachments.
Dan works for Draft Wheelchairs, a mobility retailer in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and when the store took delivery of a Track Wheel he immediately realised what a difference it could make to his marathon plans.
He added: “I hadn’t seen one before so I contacted Jordan at Rehasense to explain what I was doing, and he agreed that it would make a real difference and without hesitation sent me one which was just amazing and such a kind thing to do and very rare these days.
“I have been using the Track Wheel for the last six weeks and trust me I have pushed it to the limit, for example, 20mph over a shallow speed hump, a six-mile training session on a rough canal path made up of mud, hard-core and gravel.
“The one I have is the twin arm version as I don’t like the footplate models as the versions I have seen from other brands break the foot plate so the frame one with the two arms is just fantastic.
“Setting up the Track Wheel is very easy and only takes a couple of minutes. I know I have mine a little low on the frame but that’s so I can keep my other brackets on the chair, but that’s the great thing with the Track Wheel it’s not like all the others that need to be fitted exactly in one spot.”
The Track Wheel has been designed to transform a standard manual wheelchair into an agile tricycle to enable wheelchair users to experience greater freedom.
By attaching the 12” Track Wheel, the wheelchair’s castors are raised which slightly tilts the chair backwards and by noticeably reducing the rolling resistance, the user can enjoy increased speed, manoeuvrability and comfort.
The single arm model has been designed for use with rigid wheelchairs while the double arm model, which Dan has, is designed for use with foldable wheelchairs featuring fixed integrated footrests.
Jordan Day, UK Sales Manager, Rehasense UK, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting Dan and it is great to hear that our Track Wheel is helping him as he prepares for this year’s London Marathon.
“Completing a marathon in a wheelchair is a huge challenge and on behalf of everyone here at Rehasense I would like to wish him the best of luck for the big day.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring Dan should visit visit this website.
