He wanted to raise money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis - but also succeeded in breaking a Guinness World Record.
To finish a 26.2 mile marathon is quite a feat whatever the circumstances, but Spanish athlete Eric Domingo Roldan decided to make his challenge even harder.
In November, he pushed his mom, Silvia, in her wheelchair around the entire length of the Barcelona Marathon. Silvia suffers from multiple sclerosis, and on top of that, in August she came down with Covid-19. Eric took on the challenge to raise money for a multiple sclerosis charity and was also determined to break the world record for the fastest marathoner pushing a wheelchair.
The mother-son duo hit the halfway mark in 1:26 and eventually crossed the finish line in 2:53:28, setting a new world record and making his mum very happy in the process. 'It was a dream come true,' says Eric. 'I was constantly looking at my watch to check if we were on time, and the last 195m were the best seconds of my life. When we crossed the line I just wanted to hug Mum and tell her that we did it, for her and for multiple sclerosis. To cross that line meant that we did what we promised after going through the hardest time of our lives.'
"I was feeling happy from the first kilometre until the last, as my mum never stops cheering and supporting other runners, and that's the best part of running together," Eric commented.