HE'S the Hampshire man who has completed 11 marathons, set two world records, and trekked on Mont Blanc.

Gus McKechnie from Southampton suffers from hemiparesis - a type of cerebral palsy - but is determined to fulfill his ambition of doing 40 new challenges at 40.

Now, he is one of only seven people selected to take part in the first ever Unlimited Great South Wheelchair event.

Launched by The Unlimited Company from Simplyhealth and The Great Run Company, the one-mile challenge takes place in Portsmouth on October 21, the day before the Great South Run.

The 42-year-old, who works in customer service at Ordnance Survey, will train with Paralympic coach Rick Hoskins in preparation for the big day, as well as Paul Smith from Portsmouth Athletics Club.

His fighting spirit previously saw him set two disability world records on a rowing machine for the fastest time over 100km at around 11 hours, and furthest distance in 24 hours at around 170km.

Gus, who lives in St Mary's, said: “I’m really excited because the Simplyhealth Great South Run is an iconic event.

“I’ve grown up on the south coast where I used to live with my mum in Dorchester during the week and Hayling Island and Portsmouth on the weekends.

“I really want to raise the awareness of disability athletics and getting outside. I’m also very lucky to be a Get Outside champion for Ordnance Survey and I hope this encourages more people to be active.”

Speaking about training, he said: "It's been good, I've been going to Portsmouth each week, sometimes a few times a week. It's a mixture of high intensity training like sprints, with longer periods to build up for the race."

Gus is backing The Unlimited Company and Simplyhealth’s vision to one day make wheelchair racing a mass participation event, and is hoping there will be a shift in public perception of wheelchair sports.

“It is really important to have more people involved in sport and staying healthy,” he said.

“I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in sports and be a disability world record holder. Attitudes need to change; not just opportunities being created.”