Run Melbourne: Geelong dad shares recovery journey after being hit by a car

Geelong dad Nick Walker has revealed the toll being hit by a car took on him, almost a year on from the incident.

Nick Walker was hit by a car while riding a bike in the bike lane at the corner of Moorabool St and Little Fyans St. Picture: Mark Wilson

Before Nick Walker was hit by a car while riding a bike last year, he had been in the best shape of his life.

The 49-year-old father of two was having a “lighter” training week in May, 2022, in the lead-up to Run Melbourne.

He’d recently completed the Run The Rock and Great Ocean Road half marathons.

Mr Walker said he was riding down the Moorabool St bike path, having only started his trip about 10 minutes prior, when a car struck him.

“As I was crossing over Little Fyans St, the car didn’t see me coming and didn’t stop at the stop sign, and effectively T-boned me,” the Geelong resident said.

“At the time, I just thought I bruised myself badly.

Nick Walker said while he thought he’d just been badly bruised, he fractured his pelvis in the incident. Picture: Mark Wilson

“I ended up getting a fractured pelvis from hitting the road.”

A police spokeswoman said the driver of the car, a 24-year-old Norlane man, stopped at the scene and spoke with police.

He was issued with an infringement notice for failing to give way.

Mr Walker said he ended up spending about a month in hospital, including 10 days at the Royal Melbourne Hospital before being transferred to Epworth Geelong, where he stayed for a further three weeks.

The accountant said he had pins and wires in his pelvis to “pull it all back together”, and was told it would be six months before he’d be able to run again.

“(I was) pretty devastated,” Mr Walker said.

“I was hoping to get a (personal best) for the half marathon at Run Melbourne … and I felt given I’d just done two back-to-back half marathons within two weeks … maybe I’m on track to get a good time.

“I was very shattered about that.

“And also the thought of having to rebuild all that fitness again seemed a bit daunting.

“And I use running as stress relief or to process things, so without the running I felt a bit lost.”

Mr Walker said once he was home, he wasn’t able to move around easily, so his partner had to take on more household responsibilities.

He said it was frustrating to not be able to help out to the same extent he would have before the incident.

“I like to make sure I’m doing my share of the household stuff,” he said.

“I like to be doing stuff, and getting stuff done.

“It was quite frustrating when I couldn’t really move from the couch.”

However, Mr Walker was committed to his recovery in outpatient care, and regained the ability to run after six months.

Now, he is looking forward to finally participating in Run Melbourne on July 16 this year.

Mr Walker will be taking on the half marathon and fundraising for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

To donate, visit https://runmelbourne.com.au/fundraising/

Originally published as Run Melbourne: Geelong dad shares recovery journey after being hit by a car