A 38-YEAR-OLD Broad Chalke resident who has battled back from injury says she was “determined” to do her first marathon.
Gemma Hart is taking part in the London Marathon to raise money for Breast Cancer Now. She chose to support the charity because her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in February.
She said: “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but with my mum recently being diagnosed with breast cancer, my dad offering me the [IFF] club place and with it being in October due to Covid, everything seemed to fall into place and it meant I could run for a charity that would mean a lot to me and my family especially at this time.”
But her training for the marathon has been far from straight forward as she suffered ruptured ligaments after falling down a rabbit hole as well as treading on a flint.
As she explains: “After a good start to training I fell down a rabbit hole at the end of April and ruptured all the ligaments in my ankle. A lot of people including myself thought the chances of recovering enough to get to this year’s marathon were nearly impossible.
“After eight weeks in an air boot to support my leg, I slowly started to run to see what my chances were knowing I had to start training by July 1 if I was going to take part this October. With sheer determination and a lot of pain I managed to crack on and start my training again.”
She says it “wasn’t easy” with injuries as well as balancing working and parent two children along with a heat wave.
But disaster struck again when Gemma trod on a flint with three weeks to go before the marathon. After a week off and some new trainers she was back doing shorter runs before the big day.
She added: “I am only planning on doing it once so it will definitely be a year to remember. I’ve been blown away with the encouragement, comments and donations making me feel very proud to be taking up such a challenge.”
To donate visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/Gemma-Hart10
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