Taking on the pain barrier

Rebecca Doyle-Walker from Narre Warren South is looking forward to other events after completing the Great Australian Run. 24894 Picture: Stewart Chambers

By Kelly Yates
A NARRE Warren South woman completed last Sunday’s HBA Great Australian Run despite having partial paralysis of her right leg.
Rebecca Doyle-Walker walked across the line at the end of the 15-kilometre fundraising event.
Ms Walker, who was wheelchair-bound after suffering a stroke in 2000, battled through rehabilitation to make it to the start line on Sunday.
“It was very hard but I finished in the top 2600 competitors,” she said. “I started at a slow jog then ended up walking across the finish line.”
The 37-year-old will now begin training for the Run for the Kids on Sunday 5 April 2009, with fellow volunteer members from the Narre Warren CFA.
“I’ve turned into a run junkie and I can’t seem to stop,” she said. “When you overcome something like I have, you really enjoy every moment of it.”
The Great Australian Run was open to all levels of runners, walkers and joggers, and featured world marathon record-holder Haile Gebrselassie, Olympic champion Constantina Dita-Tomescu and Australia’s Craig Mottram and Benita Johnson.