Marathon bid defies leg injury
By Ellie Simmonds
http://images.newsquest.co.uk/image....6773&type=fullDETERMINED: Lyn Owen with personal trainer John Stocker
A woman who was warned she might never walk without crutches after a horrific accident is tackling this year's London Marathon.
Lyn Owen, 48, from Falcon Mead, Bicester, had 14 operations after smashing her knee in a quad bike accident nine years ago. Although doctors warned she could be dependent on walking sticks for the rest of her life, Ms Owen was determined to prove them wrong.
She said: "At one point I was told I would never walk without the aid of sticks, but nine years and 14 operations later, here I am, ready to run the Flora London Marathon.
"I haven't been able to do the training programmes everyone else has because my knee wasn't up to it. It's hard enough to do a marathon - let alone compete after a serious injury."
The accident happened while Ms Owen was on holiday in Cornwall in 1997. She said: "I flipped up and the bike landed on top of me after hitting a tyre wall. I had snapped ligaments and torn cartilage.
"I have spent nearly five years on crutches and sticks and was told 'don't expect too much, it's not going to happen'. After a while I thought maybe they were right."
advertisement
do_dp_ad();AdJug_AID = 197;AdJug_DefaultAdSpaceID = 10276;AdJug_Height = 250;AdJug_Width = 300;
But four years after the accident, Ms Owen, a guide dog trainer, decided to improve her fitness by going to the gym, where she met personal trainer John Stocker.
She said: "When I met John, he said, 'It doesn't have to be like that'. We started off just literally sliding a leg centimetres along the floor trying to get some movement in it. I couldn't even remember how to run, I hadn't done it for so long."
But although the pair ran the six-mile Town and Gown race in Oxford three years ago, Ms Owen suffered a setback and has had more operations.
Now she says she is ready to take on the 26.2-mile challenge with Mr Stocker on Sunday, April 22.
Mr Stocker, of Fair Close, Bicester, is based at the Fitness Company in Station Approach and works for Evolve Personal Training.
The pair are raising money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. To sponsor Ms Owen, who has already raised a total of £2,000, log on at
www.just giving.com/LynOwen
8:51am Wednesday 11th April 2007
It's quite embarrasing really. I'm on a project group with her & when she mentioned about the marathon, I said "I'd do it with you Lyn, but I get out of breath getting up the stairs at the hotel where we have our meetings" 
