PRESTON EDWARDS earned his fame for his record-breaking red card.
Now he is aiming to raise awareness for autism by running the London Marathon for charity.
The goalkeeper hit the news in 2011 when he was playing for Ebbsfleet United.
He managed to get sent off after just TEN SECONDS in a 3-0 defeat to Farnborough.
Edwards, now 33, hauled down the Boro striker Kezie Ibe as he raced through on goal after a defensive error.
The Hertfordshire-born star was given his marching orders before many had even got to their spot in the stands – and it is thought to be the fastest red card ever for a goalkeeper.
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A YouTube video of the chaotic incident went viral and now has more than 11million views.
Edwards said: “It’s something that happened, and I can tell people, but at the time I was fuming.
“Now I look back at it, and you’ve got to be proud of it.”
Ebbsfleet and Edwards did their revenge later in the season, beating Farnborough in the play-offs before going up – one of his five promotion medals.
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The shot-stopper started his career with Millwall in League One but has been in non-league since 2009 with spells at Boreham Wood, Dulwich Hamlet and Brentwood among others.
He now turns out for hometown club Cheshunt in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
But alongside his football, he is also training to run the London Marathon on April 23 to raise money for the National Autistic Society following his son Rios’ diagnosis aged four.
Maths teacher Edwards is already nearly up to £2,000 and told the Daily Star: “I didn’t have any awareness whatsoever before my son was diagnosed with autism.
“I was lost with all the information and didn’t know how to react to things, or how to include these people in everyday practise.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
“It’s all I know, he’s my firstborn, but it’s made me a better person. I know that he has to stick to a similar routine, and he doesn’t like doing things out of routine.”
Edwards is putting in the hard yards in preparation for the 26.2 miles – but admits it is difficult to balance his football and running training.
He added: “My legs are a bit more tired than usual so I do lots of stages of recovery such as swimming and icing my legs.
“I’ve done football from a very young age and keeping active has always been very important.
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“I’m a goalkeeper so I’m not necessarily doing aerobic running, so I’ve had to adapt to that just to get used to the long distances. But being an athlete has helped.”
- To sponsor Preston Edwards and donate to the National Autistic Society, go to his Just Giving page
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
