Wheeling Against the Odds: Dale Muffett's Road to the London Marathon

From tragedy to triumph—Dale’s unstoppable spirit propels him to the world stage.

Dale Muffett is our determined and inspiring endurance wheelchair athlete. He joined the club in November 2021, still recovering from a life-changing road traffic incident on January 1st of that year.

Struck by a driver traveling at 47mph in a 30mph zone, Dale sustained a moderate to severe brain injury and a T11 spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis from the waist down. In the months following his injury, Dale explored a wide range of adaptive sports— tennis, water skiing, sit skiing, sailing, and swimming—before discovering his true passion: wheelchair racing.

After four trial sessions at the track, he was hooked. However, it was out on the road where he truly came alive, favouring long-distance rides from the MBC Centre to Hilsea in a club racing chair. A surprising choice given the circumstances of his accident, but one that speaks volumes of his fearless spirit.

Once equipped with his own racing chair, Dale took his training to the next level. He has since competed in multiple events, including the Goodwood 10k and Half Marathon series. He made his debut at the Great South Run (GSR) in 2022 with an impressive time of 59:00, and returned in 2023 to smash that record with a time of 53:00. While the 2024 GSR was unfortunately cancelled due to storm force conditions, Dale didn’t let that slow his momentum. In 2024, he conquered the Brighton Marathon, not only winning the men’s wheelchair race in a phenomenal 2 hours 26 minutes, but also finishing a full eight minutes ahead of the first able bodied male competitor. That performance earned him a place on the start line of the TCS London Marathon, lining up alongside some of the world's elite wheelchair racers on Sunday, April 27th, starting at 08.50.

Dale’s road to London hasn’t been without setbacks. A significant illness in February cost him five weeks of training, followed by a solid six-week block of training before illness struck again in early April. But Dale is nothing if not resilient. He returned to training on April 14th with a gentle sub-threshold session and is now on track for race day.

We’re incredibly proud of Dale’s journey and determination. He’s overcome immense challenges and has earned his place on one of the world’s biggest stages.

Good luck, Dale—we’ll be cheering you all the way!

Writing and video by Paul Smith OBE