Laura Stuart successfully completed the New York  marathon in early November, finishing the 42km race in an impressive 4 hours 15 minutes. 

It was her first time competing in the New York marathon since sustaining a spinal injury in a
mountain bike accident in February 2016. Laura travelled to New York with 10 others from the Wellington chapter of Achilles NZ, joining 30 kiwis including competitors and support crew.

“It was so well organised. We were all treated really well and the support team made everything so easy, which meant we could just focus on the marathon itself,” Laura says.

Laura also says the local support was inspiring. “The highlight of the race was the huge festival atmosphere with people cheering and bands playing. It was really motivating,” she says.

Another highlight for Laura while she was in New York was going up the High Line on the west side of Manhattan. “It’s an accessible elevated walkway converted from an old railway line, and it was such an amazing experience,” she says.

While Laura is pleased with her time she does not miss the training, which included doing “millions of laps” of the indoor track at the ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie.

While Laura is keen to return to New York again, for now she is enjoying a well-deserved break from training and looking forward to spending Christmas with family in Blenheim and Nelson Lakes. 

Healthcare Rehabilitation supported Laura by providing financial assistance toward her marathon efforts through our sponsorship programme.