Builder to tackle marathon, months after breaking back
A Wellingtonian is determined to complete this week’s Queenstown Marathon as a ‘‘big middle finger’’ to breaking his back in a mountain biking accident eight months ago.
Builder Louis Haigh, 29, loves sports – he does a lot of swimming, mountain biking and has run six marathons.
But it came to an abrupt halt in March this year when he was mountain biking in Miramar – his first ride after recovering from Covid. ‘‘[The trail] is quite steep. I caught a branch, twisted my handlebars, went flying off, going full horizontal in the air and copping a tree to my neck and shoulder,’’ he said. ‘‘I didn’t realise the severity at the time and I actually went to work for a week.’’
An X-ray showed Haigh broke his T5 and T6 vertebrae, meaning he had to stay off work and sports for 41⁄2 months. ‘‘I got a bit fat and slow,’’ Haigh said. ‘‘It was really hard getting back into the realm of things.’’
Although it might have dulled down, Haigh still feels the pain from the injury. Compounded by the length of time since his last marathon, he was ‘‘starting from scratch’’ when training for the current one, and he still was not sure if he could finish it.
‘‘I have not run or trained properly since my last marathon two years ago,’’ he said. ‘‘My base level of fitness was out of the window after sitting for five months.
‘‘I had to start from the beginning again, like running from a spot to the lamp-post and then running a bit further the next day, and then a bit further after that.’’
However, Haig is determined to complete the 42-kilometre run in Otago this coming weekend.
‘‘Finishing it will be like a big middle finger to the accident, like I almost want to go ride that track again and chop the tree down,’’ he said. ‘‘I just feel like I can only be sorry for myself for so long – I was for a while and then, the only person who can change it was myself.’’
He hoped his story could inspire others who were in his shoes a couple of months ago.
‘‘This experience has made me realise that everyone is going through something, no two injuries are the same,’’ he said. ‘‘Anything is possible. You can do whatever you really put your head to.’’