InterviewWayne Burton
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'Someone said to me things would get easier - that was the biggest lie I've ever been told'
Lee Mottershead meets an inspirational former jockey on a marathon mission
Lee MottersheadSenior writer
Wayne Burton in training with his Oaksey House physiotherapist Scott Reed as the pair prepare for the 2024 London Marathon
Credit: Edward Whitaker
Wayne Burton might not appear an obvious candidate to take part in the London Marathon.
The former jockey turned 40 this year and has never tackled a half-marathon, let alone the real thing he will face in April. By his own admission, the Lambourn resident is a little overweight. Some might consider a further barrier to his participation is the fact he is paralysed from the chest down.
Appearances can be deceptive. Burton has been taking on momentous endeavours since the March afternoon in 2008 when a fall in a handicap hurdle at Exeter changed everything.
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more inInterviews
- George Scott: 'Things had to change for us to stay in the conversation - and I think it's allowed us to become relevant again'
- Rose Dobbin: 'You go to the races nervous and your worst fears would come true'
- Rod Street: 'Racing spends a lot of time talking to itself in a bubble - we're not blessed with people who inhabit the wider world'
- 'There's a time to be serious because it's a multi-million-pound business - but you've got to have a laugh'
- 'All of us who ply our trade training horses are dreamers - to put so much into it you must have a dream'