How running saved my life

Amateur wheelchair marathoner, Sharnie Digby, is currently working her way through five marathons in five months. As official health insurance partner of the Nike Melbourne Marathon, we caught up with Sharnie to find out how she got into the sport and what motivates her.

 I've always been sporty. I was actually a distance swimmer as a kid and, to be honest, I couldn't run across the road to save myself. Becoming disabled changed my life and has got me into this great sport.

 I got a neurological illness in 1999 and I went through a period where I walked again and then I ended up back in the chair.  It was very interesting to see both worlds, how I was treated by people when I was in the chair as opposed to being able to walk.

Just as I found running in 2017, I injured my shoulder and spent 11 months in hospital. I was told that I may not be able to live independently and end up in care, let alone be able to do long distance events. The drive to get back into running probably changed my life and saved my life.

My brother and I both love Disney and learned about Run Disney, which has you running through the Disney parks at 5am while they’re still closed. My brother signed up, so I signed up for a 10km run and did it in a day chair. I absolutely loved it. It became the start of a very long journey.

From then, I progressed to what's called a free wheel where you put in an extra wheel on front of a wheelchair and then I was very, very lucky when my friends did a Go Fund Me for a race chair. That has opened up even more opportunities the distance has got longer, the equipment got better, and I'm enjoying it so much.

I consider myself just another runner. Like 98% of the people out there, I'm not elite, but the community has just been so welcoming. Because I'm not super fast, I am amongst the pack, and I love chatting to runners while we're out there. They go past me on the up hills and I catch them on the downhills.

I've just completed my 10th marathon when I thought I’d never do one. I'm currently doing five marathons in five months. I'm travelling Australia, I'm travelling the world, and it's just amazing.

You can get into your own head and think you can't do something. Whereas if you get your head in the right space, you can prove yourself. It's amazing what you can achieve. I know that my shoulder is going to hurt if I sit and do nothing all day, so if I go and do 42km s it still hurts, so let's get out there.

I’ve come to realise this isn't just an elite sport for those of us with a disability. I used to think that if I'm not in a race chair, and I'm not elite, there's no space for me. We're breaking down those barriers now. Anyone can get out and give it a go, so please do!