Runner Turns Injury into Opportunity

The following post is written by NFE runner Brian Lease.

Passion in life…
It’s what I can do with my legs and proudly wearing yellow.

I set high goals for the 2010 running season: running in eight events (two marathons, one 25K and five half marathons).  Achieving these goals would set me up to run the JFK 50-mile in 2011.  Yes, I wanted to run in a 50-mile race.

As NF Endurance athletes, we all face possible injuries that can cause a setback.  I personally have been dealing with mild injuries since December 2009.  Injuries don’t usually stop me; I ran the 2010 Disney Marathon all taped up, limping to the finish line.

However, in late June 2010 an easy four-mile run turned into a 50 minute run.  I was really puzzled — the only issue was tightness and some soreness along my tibia. I figured it was just a bad day.   It was recommended I get an X-ray to make sure a stress fracture did not happen.  The X-ray showed my fibula was fully fractured and was close to the ankle.  I went in for an MRI the next day and found out I had a full stress fracture on the tibia.

What is amazing is that I have had very little pain — mostly soreness and some swelling issues.  Shortly later, I met with an orthopedic. My 2010 goals were immediately crushed  as I was told I would not be able to run for 12-16 weeks after the surgery.   I ended up with a plate and eight screws on the fibula and bone grafting.

I am on the road to recovery now, and I get to experience the other side.  In the Twin Cities Marathon, shortly after mile 24, there is a “Sea of Yellow.” I heard this awesome Cheer Zone in 2009 running my first marathon, and hearing all of them was more exciting than running my first marathon.  I look forward to cheering on the NF Endurance Team and giving that same push to the finish line.

Will I be back?  Yes, and my goal is to run the Kentucky Derby Marathons with my friends — the Kentucky NF Endurance Team – on April 30, 2011, exactly 9 months after my surgery.

I am going to take a line from a Whitesnake song:

I have made up my mind, I ain’t wasting no time, here I go again.