A line stretched almost from one end of Big W to the other as people patiently waited for the Paralympic athlete to sign their copies of his first book Kurt Fearnley – Pushing the Limits. 

Keen to get his autograph, many arrived 45 minutes before he was due in the store. 

In most cases Mr Fearnley’s local fans did not stop at one book, but had their arms piled high with copies of his life story, no doubt with Christmas gift giving on their minds. 

Many had a personal story of their own to share as they handed over their books. 

Mr Fearnley signed copies of his book for two hours without pause. He said he was a bit uncomfortable about publishing a book because he tends not to be big on reflection.

“If you start looking back too much, you stop thinking about improving and moving forward,” he said.

However, Mr Fearnley said he had been often approached over the past six years and finally decided to do it.

He said he was extremely fortunate to be able to work on it with Warwick Green. He and Mr Green spent 18 months on bringing the story to life.

“You want to own every word,” Mr Fearnley said.

“It needs to be something you can be proud of.

“The feedback was unexpected. You put things down, but you never know how it will be taken. The response has been extremely positive.”

Mr Fearnley is well aware of the gifts and opportunities that his talent, hard work and determination have afforded him.

“The joy, happiness and experiences it has brought into my life is incredible,” he said.

“It’s too much of a gift to ever have missed out on it.”

Now 33, Mr Fearnley has a beautiful young family, something that has added so much more enjoyment to his sporting achievements.

“The larger the family, the more people to share it with and the more emotion you feel,” Mr Fearnley said.

Mr Fearnley has won three Paralympic gold medals, seven world championships and more than 35 marathons. He won his fifth New York Marathon earlier this year. His list of accomplishments also include taking part in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and crawling the entire length of the Kokoda Trail. However, there is still so much more he wants to do. 

“There’s plenty of new things I want to try,” he said. “I’d like to do an Ironman one day and there’s this marathon at the South Pole – a million things.”

Mr Fearnley thinks he has about four years left as an elite athlete and he is determined to make the most of that time. 

“Your strengths change over time,” he said.

He said he has the 2016 Paralympics in Rio to work towards and the 2018 Common- wealth Games on the Gold Coast.