Pushing the limits
Athlete to tackle 21km in chair
A 31-year-old Townsville man will be the first to complete a half marathon in a wheelchair at the BMA Mackay Marina Run next month.
Damon Jaenke, who played basketball at an elite level for 20 years in the National Wheelchair Basketball League, made the move to marathons after retiring from the sport.
And while a 21.1km half marathon in a wheelchair might seem like a huge challenge to face, especially while recovering from a serious wrist injury, Mr Jaenke isn’t one to shy away from a challenge.
The personal trainer who is part of the management team at Planet Fitness was born with spina bifida, and has used a wheelchair all his life.
He is also a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 22, which came back a second time and spread to his stomach and lymph nodes.
With a tattoo that says “trust your struggles” as his reminder, Mr Jaenke said when it came to completing a marathon he genuinely “loves the endurance and the pain”.
“I’ve got a saying ‘When I go through hell, that’s when I know myself’,” he said.
“Halfway through a marathon you hit a wall and your body doesn’t want to go anywhere. Your mind says ‘just do it’ and you somehow finish.”
The Mackay Marina Run is on June 4 and Mr Jaenke plans to prove the flat, 21.1km course can be done in the chair. He clocks up distances of 12km–18km three times a week in preparation, and he also hits the gym twice a week.
Mr Jaenke hopes to finish the race between 1–1.5 hours while showing others they can “give it a go, either for serious reasons or just for fun”.
“Not everyone has to be a Paralympian or Boston Marathon winner. They can just go out on a Sunday morning for fun,” he said.