John Buckley dreamt of completing 100 marathons.

With a mere 11 to go, the race walker was forced to quit when he had a pulmonary embolism diagnosed, caused by a blood clot in his lung.

“I literally couldn’t breathe,” he said, adding that for someone who walks marathons it was “an interesting turn of events”.

At first he didn’t quite obey the doctor’s orders, but then he had another blood clot.

He has since suffered from repeated blood clots and deep vein thrombosis.

In One Step at a Time, a travelogue and memoir published this week, Mr Buckley takes the reader through 89 races in seven continents and 50 states.

However, the book, he insists, is not for sale. A complimentary copy is given to anyone who makes a donation of $25 or more to the Bermuda Stroke & Family Support Association and is available at Sportseller on Washington Lane.

He told The Royal Gazette: “I didn’t want to gain anything from the book.

“I’d gained enough from travelling the world and doing marathons. That’s why I wanted to give the profits to the stroke foundation.”

All proceeds will be donated to the charity that assists persons and their families who have suffered a stroke.

“I was somewhat reluctant on my part to give up my passion and my therapy,” Mr Buckley said, but found relief in writing memoirs that he had originally intended for himself and his family.

The story, which was written for the local market, gives readers a glimpse of the Bermudian’s triumphs in Antarctica, the Great Wall of China and the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert — considered to be the toughest foot race on Earth.

With his first race in 1992, he’d been walking 20 years until his last — the Mississippi Blues marathon in 2012.

“I didn’t know it was going to be my last,” he said. “It was just number 89 of what was going to be 100.

“I tend to be goal driven. Had I reached 100, I probably would have set a new goal of 100 countries.”

Mr Buckley funded its publication, so he promises the charity will receive the entire donation.

He said: “My emphasis is very much on the charity. The book is free for anyone who wants to make a donation.”