Runners

Tim manages asmile through avery tough time``````TIME FLIESTim ran amarathon sixmonths afterbreaking his neck‘ THEBODYIS ANAMAZINGTHING’Triathlete Tim Don broke hisneck last year – but is backto racing and dreaming big``````OCTOBER, 2017: Tim Don wasgoing for one last bike ride inKona, Hawaii, before taking hisplace on the start line of the IronmanWorld Championships. At 39, he’dhad arguably the best year of hiscareer: six months earlier, he’d wonthe Ironman South AmericanChampionships in Brazil, takingfour minutes off the Ironman worldrecord. But Tim, who trained withMo Farah as a youth, did not get achance to compete in Kona. A vanknocked him off his bike, leavinghim with a broken neck. However,six months later, Tim completed theBoston Marathon in 2:49:42 and hashis sights set on this year’s IronmanWorld Cha mpion sh ips. RW caughtup with him to find out what it takesto recover from such a serious injury.``````SO WHAT HAPPENED?I was in the cycle lane. An oncomingvehicle thought it could cross in frontof me but it wiped me out. The nextthing I remember, a guy was standingover me, asking me if I was OK. AnMRI revealed I’d broken my neck.I was told if I wore a ‘halo’ I had a90 per cent chance of making a 100per cent recovery. So I said, ‘Soundsgood – what’s a halo?’ The doctorsaid it’s kind of like a plaster cast foryour neck. I wore it for three months.``````WHAT WERE THE EARLY DAYSLIKE AFTER THE OPERATION?The screws in my head were verysore. I wasn’t sleeping much, as thebrace went right down to my bellybutton and I had to sleep upright ina chair. I couldn’t shower, I couldn’t``````think straight because the pain wascoming and going. I thought, ‘Isthis it? Will I ever race again?’``````WHEN WERE YOU ABLE TOBEGIN YOUR TRAINING AGAIN?After about three weeks, I managedto get on the exercise bike whilewearing the halo. I did ive minutesat 100 watts, which is like runningthree minutes at 12-minute-milepace. But it was a breakthroughfor me. It was all about believingin the process rather than the goal.Because I was training, the screwson my halo were beginning tocome loose, so I had to get themretightened. If you have a mountainbike and you tighten up the seatpost so that it doesn’t slip, it isrecommended you do that to iveNewton metres [units of torque]. Inmy skull, they had to tighten themto eight Newton metres!``````WHY DID YOU WANT TO RUNTHE BOSTON MARATHON?I wanted to do something where``````I could pin on a number. In April,if I’d wanted to do a triathlon, I’dhave had to travel to Asia – andI could not justify lying to Asiajust to get my ass whopped. Anopportunity to run Boston came upand I just had to do it. The ultimategoal this year is the Ironman WorldChampionships in Kona, in October.But I’m not going to do it just tomake up the numbers. I’m 40 now;I’ve only got so many Ironman racesleft in my body.``````WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNEDTHROUGH THIS PROCESS?That the body is an amazing thing.I’ve also been reminded of howfortunate I am to have my wife,Kelly, and everyone who supportsme. A lot of people have said, ‘Youare an inspiration’. But I say, ‘Whatwould you do?’ I’m not going todrink a bottle of scotch every night.I want to carry on doing what I love.``````WORDS: RICK PEARSON.``````PHOTOGRAPHS: WAGNER AR``````AUJO (MAIN IMAGE)``````024 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK JULY 2018HRH R