I’m A-ok, says marathon heroine as she gets a jog on back to work
MOST of us might fancy a day off after dragging our exhausted body over a marathon finish line, crawling on bloodied knees to secure a personal best time ... but not Hayley Curruthers.
Within hours of capturing the heart of the nation with her gutsy performance, the 26-year-old radiographer was back on shift at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
On Sunday, concerned viewers had seen her stumble a metre short of the London Marathon finish line then dramatically crawl her way over before she was taken away, unconscious and on a stretcher.
She recovered enough to have a celebratory post-run meal with her family before surfacing online to post a photograph of her bandaged knees on Twitter. She then rushed back up to Birmingham where patients and colleagues gave her a warm welcome back to her day job.
She told The Daily Telegraph during a break in yesterday’s shift: “My day has been a whirlwind and patients and all colleagues have congratulated me...i’m totally on cloud nine, I love the positive message that’s come out of it. That’s what running is about.”
Other elite marathon runners may have had time to recover, but Hayley is the only one with a full-time job and has always had to fit her intense training schedule around her work.
She appeared to feel fine yesterday, posting a picture of herself in uniform giving a “thumbs up” and looking remarkably fresh-faced. Ms Carruthers wrote: “Don’t worry guys! I am A-ok! Back to reality... #doublelife.”
Her hard work seems to have paid – she finished 18th in a personal best time of 2:34:03, just three minutes off the British Athletics’ qualifying standard for the world championships.
♦ The marathon runner who completed the race dressed as Big Ben has revealed his costume was later stolen.
Lukas Bates, from Maidstone, Kent, went to a pub afterwards, but was barred from entering while still in the outfit. CCTV showed other runners taking it, but he told BBC News he could see the funny side.