Robby Ketchell has been an instrumental force in multiple teams across a range of elite level sports, including assisting the Team Sky cycling team in three Tour de France victories as the Data Scientist. Robby, who was also involved in Eliud’s Nike Breaking2 marathon attempt, has a long-found interest in marathon running and ran his first last year in the New York City Marathon, hoping to break his own barrier of three hours, 21 minutes. The target transpired as a result of Robby’s desire to raise awareness of Down syndrome, a condition his son Wyatt was born with. Down syndrome exists when there are three copies of the 21st chromosome, hence the poignant time.

Wyatt has already experienced and overcome a lot in his life: on his first birthday he underwent open heart surgery, he has been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder and he has had multiple feeding difficulties. Robby believes that by witnessing the way his son breaks barriers and overcomes challenges, he has been given a different perspective on life. Robby insists that “the challenges have opened my eyes and he has changed me as a person. It actually made me realise that when you look at anybody, you may not know where they are coming from, you may not know what their background is, you may not know what they have overcome or what their challenges and barriers have been so I think that it is really important to realise that you can achieve anything just as long as you have the courage to try.” Robby and his wife Marya, have shown immense bravery and resilience, and they hope to inspire other parents going through similar circumstances to understand that they are never limited, and that they are able to live a full and wonderful life

Eliud’s NoHumanIsLimited mantra resonates with his own family and he has always believed that this philosophy would help Eliud to push his body that extra amount in order to achieve this goal. However, he insists that “it doesn’t just apply to running the marathon, it can apply to anybody, whether they’re going about their daily routine, or faced with medical based challenges or anything else in their life; you can accomplish anything so long as you put your mind to it and push yourself to it.”

Robby’s advice? “Go at it with a feeling of determination and continue to have the persistence to achieve whatever your goals may be.”