By Isaac Harvey, President, Wheels and Wheelchairs
Where It All Started
If you'd told me a few years ago that in September 2026 I would be in Berlin attempting two marathons in one weekend, I probably would have wondered how we'd got there. Or, actually, knowing how my life has unfolded, maybe I wouldn't have been that surprised.
It takes me back to 2019, when I remember being at Winter Wonderland and someone told me about wheelchair roller skating. I had never heard of such a concept. The idea was simple: wheelchair users and roller skaters coming together, with skaters pushing the chairs and allowing them to experience skating alongside them.
I joined on a Saturday morning and from that point onwards became heavily involved with Wheels and Wheelchairs. It was the first time I'd experienced an activity that not only brought a community together, but that I could also do close to home. There was something about being outdoors, being part of a group and experiencing places in a completely different way.
Due to my involvement, I was eventually asked to become President of Wheels and Wheelchairs. It felt like a big role to fill, but by then I had already seen what this group could make possible, so I accepted. I don't think I had any idea where that decision would eventually take me.
The Adventures Kept Getting Bigger
The more involved I became, the more I realised wheelchair skating could take me much further than I had ever imagined.
I had the opportunity to skate in Paris and Istanbul, experience Berlin and eventually take on one of our biggest adventures yet, skating all the way from Brighton to Paris for the start of the Paralympic Games. That one still sounds slightly ridiculous when I write it down, but it was such an incredible experience.
Wheels and Wheelchairs had travelled internationally before I became involved, so this is very much my personal perspective. But these were the experiences that showed me what could happen when wheelchair users, skaters and the right group of people came together. Something I'd never even heard of before joining the group was suddenly taking me across countries and giving me experiences I never thought I'd have.
Berlin became a particularly important part of that story. I completed the Inline Skating Marathon there twice. Being amongst thousands of skaters taking over the streets of Berlin was something special, particularly knowing how many people still don't even realise wheelchair skating exists.
But through all of those different adventures, there were also people who became a constant part of the journey.
Someone Who's Been There From The Beginning
Kevin has actually been part of my skating story from the very start.
One thing I've probably never appreciated publicly enough is just how much he cares about making sure people are included. From those early skates, he was always looking out for people, making sure everyone was safe and thinking about how we could all be part of what was happening. Years later, that hasn't changed.
And every now and then, the two of us have also wondered whether we could push things a little further.
One of those moments was taking wheelchair skating into London's night skates. Having me join as a wheelchair user was something new, and together we went from that first night skate to eventually taking on the Friday Night Skate and Good Friday night skate too. Something that initially felt like a big unknown gradually became something we knew was possible.
Looking back, I'm incredibly grateful to Kevin for those experiences. But I'm even more grateful for everything people don't necessarily see: the care, patience and responsibility he has brought to skating over the years. It's something I probably don't say enough, so it feels right to say it here.
And then, after years of skating together, another question came up.
The Idea That Took Two Years
Could we complete both Berlin marathons in the same weekend?
The idea of the Berlin Double had been developing for almost two years: complete the Berlin Inline Skating Marathon on Saturday and then, less than 24 hours later, take on the running marathon.
It was exactly the kind of question that sounds exciting when the event is still two years away. The closer September 2026 got, the more we began to understand what we'd actually signed ourselves up for.
Saturday: The First 42.2km
On Saturday 26th September, we took on the Berlin Inline Skating Marathon.
There was something surreal about finally being there after talking about the Double for so long. This was my third time participating in the skating marathon, but it felt completely different knowing that crossing the finish line wouldn't actually mean our challenge was finished.
We had originally hoped for another sub-two-hour skate, but as the race unfolded, that stopped mattering to me. I just wanted to get to the finish.
And we did.
There was an incredible amount of support around us, from fellow skaters to people watching from the side of the course. But there wasn't much time to celebrate. The following morning, we had another 42.2km waiting for us.
Sunday: When It Became Very Real
Sunday 27th September was my first running marathon ever, and it became a very different experience.
The atmosphere was infectious. There were so many people on the sidelines, complete strangers shouting our names and giving us so much support, and even other runners alongside us offering words of encouragement. It's really hard to put into words, but it was certainly special.
However, as each kilometre passed, the pain became worse. There came a point where my body was struggling so much that I couldn't think properly. I was getting out of breath and everything became about trying to manage what was happening physically. There was a moment where it genuinely felt as though we had failed.
That was difficult to process because this wasn't just one day. It was nearly two years of planning, training and people supporting us. We had made it through Saturday and suddenly I was having to confront the possibility that my body might decide where the story ended.
Kevin was there throughout all of it.
People will understandably look at the photographs and see me in the chair with Kevin pushing, but that doesn't really explain the trust involved in something like this. We had trained and experimented together, and after all those years of skating, here we were trying to get through something neither of us had ever done before. On the Sunday, when things became incredibly difficult, we were still a team.
Somehow, we kept going. Eventually, we crossed the finish line.
Making History, Even Without The Guinness Title
As the idea initially grew, we started wondering whether what we were attempting could become a Guinness World Record.
That would have been an incredible addition to the story, but Guinness ultimately couldn't recognise the Double in the way we had hoped. They offered us a different record involving the skating marathon, but we knew what mattered to us.
We wanted to do the Double.
After nearly two years of talking about it, planning it and wondering whether our bodies would actually get us through it, a certificate wasn't going to be the reason we crossed those finish lines. We went to Berlin believing we could make history as the first wheelchair user and pusher duo to complete both marathons across the same weekend.
When we crossed that second finish line, that's exactly what it felt like.
The People Who Captured The Journey
One of the reasons we'll be able to look back properly on this experience is Jonathan. He did an incredible job filming and documenting our journey, including so much of what happened before we ever reached a Berlin start line. He captured the training, conversations, funny moments and difficult ones, as well as the weekend itself.
I'm particularly grateful for that because a photograph of a medal or a finish line can make something like this look very simple. It doesn't show the months beforehand, the doubts, the pain or all the people who helped make those few seconds at the finish possible.
Jonathan helped us preserve that side of the story, and he deserves a huge amount of credit for it.
What This Was Really About
It's strange to think that all of this traces back to someone mentioning wheelchair roller skating to me when I didn't even know such a thing existed.
Years later, it has taken me across countries, introduced me to some incredible people and eventually led to Kevin and me crossing two marathon finish lines in Berlin across one weekend. What started as an idea almost two years earlier had actually happened.
But I don't think the medals or even making history are what I'll remember most.
For me, the Berlin Double showed what inclusive sport can look like when people come together and are willing to find a way. None of this happened because one person did everything. It took Kevin pushing me, people training alongside us, people helping behind the scenes and a whole community believing that this slightly mad idea was worth pursuing.
It also gave us an opportunity to tell more people about Wheels and Wheelchairs and raise more than £3,400 to help the club continue creating opportunities, experiences and better equipment for wheelchair users.
To everyone who donated, shared what we were doing, followed the journey, sent us messages, trained with us, supported us in Berlin or played any part in getting us to those finish lines, thank you. You became part of this story too.
I'm still recovering physically, and I think it will take a little longer for everything we've achieved to properly sink in. But I'm incredibly proud of what all of us created together.
Perhaps that's the biggest thing I've learned since discovering Wheels and Wheelchairs: you never really know where the next adventure is going to take you.
And apparently, Berlin might not be our last starting line either…
