Blade runner sets new world record

Jacky Hunt-Broersma has just completed 102 marathons in 102 days, showing the world that an amputee can do just as well, if not better, than an able-bodied runner.

With her B2B marathons, she also now holds a new world record in the female able bodied category. The amputee record stood at 31 B2B marathons and the previous record held by a female able bodies marathon runner was 95 completed by Alyssa Amos Clark.

Having grown up in Pretoria and now living in Arizona in the US, Hunt-Broersma used to hide in the school bathroom to miss track practice.

She told the IOS this week that she only started running after losing her leg to cancer.

She and her husband, Edwin, left South Africa in 1998 to go to the Netherlands and it was while living there, that she was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma.

“The only way to save my life and prevent the cancer from spreading was to amputate my leg. It was a tough message to hear, first that you have cancer and then that you are going to lose your leg,” said Hunt-Broersma.

The couple moved to the United Kingdom for 13 years, before moving to the US where they stayed in North Carolina and then on to Arizona, which she described as similar to South Africa.

Having seen how her husband enjoyed running, she decided to give it a try six years ago.

“I always saw how happy everyone was when they crossed the finish line. I wanted to see if I could do it as an amputee.

“At first I only ran 5km and then quickly moved to longer distances. I wasn’t a runner before my amputation, in fact I used to hide in the bathroom at school so I could miss track days,” she said.

But she soon caught the running bug: “I love the challenge and how it makes me feel. Running makes me feel strong and fearless and has given me so much confidence in who I am.

“When I first became an amputee, I was embarrassed at how I looked and I would always hide my leg because I didn’t want people to know I was an amputee. Running changed that for me, it gave me confidence and showed me how strong my body is even if it is missing a part of it.”

She said running a 42.2km marathon every day for 102 days had been a challenge, as was getting the right amount of nutrition to keep going.

“I think the biggest challenge was mentally. It’s hard when you are tired and all you want to do is rest after your marathon, but you know the next day you’ve got to do it all over again.

“I need fuel for running a marathon, but at the same time I also need to eat for recovery.

“Usually you only have to do fuelling (carbo-loading) before a marathon and eating protein for recovery afterwards, but I have to do both at the same time. In the beginning, I just ate everything but quickly ran out of steam. So I had to adjust my diet to make sure I ate a lot, but the right kind of food,” she said.

Running her B2B marathons on roads mostly near her home, she also completed the Boston Marathon on April 18.

And the 102 days have had some tough moments.

“I have had times when I felt like giving up and I have even cried a little. I just couldn’t see myself finishing another marathon, but then I’d take a deep breath and tell myself just to focus on one step at a time and focus on one mile at a time and before you know it, you are at 42.4kms. The big picture is very overwhelming, but the smaller ones are more manageable. I do the same when I do ultra-marathons, focus on the little goals. I wanted to show the world that an amputee can do as much as anyone else, if not more,” she said.

Looking ahead, her next challenge will be a 240-mile (386km) race in October and she added: “I am a big believer that we are capable of so much more than we think. We just need to try. Get out of your comfort zone. For some people it might be running one mile, for others it might be a marathon.

“If you are facing challenges, face them head on and don’t rely on other people to fix your problems. Once you face your problems, you can do anything,” she said.

The Independent on Saturday