A Marathon Effort to Get People out of Wheelchairs and Back on their Feet

The inspirational and enigmatic Catriona Williams, founder of The CatWalk Trust, has signed up along with 20 friends and supporters to take up the challenge to run the world’s most famous marathon. The New York Marathon is the Trust’s latest initiative to raise funds for a cure for spinal cord injuries. Their flag bearer is Olympian Mark Todd who agreed to join the challenge. While equestrian fit, Todd faces a whole new challenge in running his first marathon at 54 years old.

“Running a marathon has been on my bucket list for a few years now. Catriona and The CatWalk Trust have provided the catalyst to spur me into action. This is the perfect scenario – achieving the goal of completing a marathon and doing it for a wonderful cause”, says Todd.

Catriona joins a small group of people to compete at New York on a hand-cycle. A dot on the back streets of Masterton cruising along most mornings, Catriona is clocking up the miles with her personal determination to cross the finish line, along side her team mates in November, driving her on. In true form, she tackles this with a huge smile, buckets of style and a positive energy that inspires others to want to push their own boundaries. Catriona is a C6-7 tetraplegic which means that she is paralysed from the chest down with limited use of her arms.

Formerly one of New Zealand’s leading international equestrian riders, Catriona was confined to a wheelchair following a riding accident on 10 November, 2002. Her life was changed in an instant when the horse she was riding failed to complete the jump properly. Nearly eight years to the day she will compete again, against herself and her goal of finishing the 42km and raising as much money as possible to go towards the Trust she founded in 2005.

Keeping up with Williams is never an easy task as she continues to attack life with the same determination that had her succeeding in the equestrian arena and operates at a speed that would exhaust most of us. While managing the affairs of the stud farm she runs with her husband in the Wairarapa, LA Stud, she whirls from her home office immersed in paperwork, to checking on the new foals and keeping in touch with the CatWalk office – in between she fits in her training schedule.

She talks enthusiastically about her training regime and bubbles over with genuine surprise at how quickly she is improving and actually enjoying getting out there on the bike. A slight figure, she now sports much coveted triceps, to be proud of. “I know this may sound crazy but I actually really enjoy the training. Afterwards I come in feeling quite heroic because I’ve done a big chunk of exercise and because I’m a step closer to that NY finish line!”

Her love of whipping up home baking in her purpose built kitchen has changed focus slightly as she recognises the importance of eating well to provide adequate fuel, but says “I’m hungry all the time, I crave food, especially after a big ride”. Muffins have been replaced with iron pills and whey powder drinks. The rest of her training regime is swimming twice a week in her swimming pool and a local gym owner helps her with advice once a week.

Catriona has only one rule she adheres to for her training, and it applies across everything she takes on – it must be fun and it must be done with 100% commitment.
"I have a goal of ultimately walking and dancing again and my aim is to make it happen in my lifetime." In the meantime, she tackles the goal of achieving a marathon on her hand-cycle.

When asked how far the training has progressed recently, she responds, “To be honest work took priority last month! I’m gradually building back up again with another 20km plus trip planned. The main reason being I feel such a hero afterwards! I went cycling last week and passed about 100 runners going the opposite way. Yes, they come in all shapes and sizes and each running technique is unique. I was desperate to stop and have a break but didn’t want to look pathetic so kept cycling and said ‘hello’ to each one. Some were too red in the face to respond which made me feel a little better. I kept imagining I was in New York – what a blast it’s going to be!”

“I am also reading a fantastic book called Ultra Marathon Man as inspiration, if he can do what he does then ours is literally a walk in the park!”

Initially her training was on an all terrain model hand-cycle, but she felt a real breakthrough when she switched to a road model, “a bit like going from a Clydesdale to a Thoroughbred and it’s made a world of difference. It gave me the confidence to push my distance out a bit more.”

Catriona’s enthusiasm for the cause extends to everything she does in life – life is to be experienced and being a tetraplegic isn’t holding her back. From small beginnings with a handful of friends to a serious national non-profit organisation with international links – she is now replicating this with her marathon challenge. From 3km in an hour to completing 21kms in 2 hours, she is thrilled to have achieved the half way mark and continues to reach for the stars (the Spangled Banner variety!).

The New York Marathon kicks off on 7th November and will have numerous supporters joining the CatWalk Team to cheer them all along the gruelling route. This premier event is one of the world’s greatest road races, drawing more than 100,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes and is the goal many aspire to if they are to run a marathon, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel before more than two million cheering spectators and 315 million worldwide television viewers.

As the family of patrons indicates (Richie McCaw, Mark Todd, Sarah Walker, Sir Brian Lohore, Zara Phillips, Lance O’Sullivan, Dion Nash, Aaron Slight), the most likely people to be struck with paralysis are those that live on the edge and push boundaries in their chosen sport every day. 40% of spinal cord injuries in New Zealand are due to a sporting accident. The leap from being at the peak of physical activity to one second later being paralysed is something they are all familiar with.

With such a significant sporting involvement, the New York Marathon as a fundraising challenge made a lot of sense.

While this is a personal challenge for all the team members (one is due to have a baby in March this year) it’s also a personal desire to make a difference to people that are paralysed and those that will suffer in the future. These people have all been touched by someone who has had their life changed in an instant, affecting all those around them through a devastating spinal cord injury. In New Zealand alone, we have one spinal cord Injury occurring every five days resulting in long lasting impairment.

The CatWalk Trust’s goal is to push the boundaries and pace of scientific research to enable spinal cord injury victims to walk, run and dance again. Research in this area has already been successful in assisting some people to walk again and to reduce the risk of paralysis after injury through specific treatments.

“These are exciting times, as I always say every day in the chair is one step closer to being without the chair!” says Williams.

The CatWalk Trust is a non-profit organisation which raises funds to support research for the cure for spinal cord injury (SCI) paralysis. For more information about the Trust and its activities – go to: www.catwalk.org.nz

If you would like to support the team through fundraising efforts or to sign up for the 2011 or 2012 challenge and be part of a team, please email: cath@catwalk.org.nz