A marathon miracle for Brodie Donegan

WOMAN who was told she'd never walk after being hit by drugged driver proved doctors wrong when she took part in London Marathon.

Brodie Donegan

A WOMAN who was told she would never walk again after being hit by a drugged driver proved doctors wrong when she took part in the London Marathon yesterday.

Chilled to the bone, her muscles burning like fire, Brodie Donegan limped over the finish line of the London Marathon.

"It all hurts, my knees hurt, my ankles hurt, my feet hurt, my hips hurt, pretty much my whole lower body is cramping, it does not want to move," she said as she left the track.

"I've had lots of pain killers. It still hurts."

But the courageous mother-of-two has endured intense pain before and she knows it is survivable.

After being hit by a car on Christmas Day 2009 she not only temporarily lost the use of her legs, she lost something irreplaceable - the life of her unborn daughter, Zoe.

Yesterday she honored her baby's memory in a feat her doctors initially thought impossible.

Joining 35,970 other competitors she braved wind and rain on an unforgiving 26-mile trail through London's streets.

The tenacious Newcastle resident whose hip is attached to the base of her spine with a large screw set herself a goal of finishing the world-renowned marathon in under 8 hours.

As her legs and hip began to ache early in the race she had to fight the urge to abandon her mission and take refuge in one of the countless pubs she passed along her way.

"I wouldn't have got here without my friend Kerry kicking my butt the whole way and not letting me give in and reminding me how much I wanted to do it," she said.

"I just wanted to sit down, but I couldnt do that."

One of her biggest fears was rain, feeling less than confident on slippery surfaces because of the fragility of her hip, and while the race started under a cloudless sky, half way through the heavens opened.

"We weren't very happy because I was already sore and tired and Kerry was sick of me whingeing about being sore and tired. It started to pour and it was very wet windy and cold. Luckily there were a few people giving out coats."

While the official clock read 8 hours and five minutes when she reached the finish gate, hold ups caused by the large field of runners meant she had not crossed the starting line until about 25 minutes after the race began.

Ms Donegans four-year-old daughter Ashlee met her mum at pre-arranged points along the course, traveling with friends via train.

When she finally made the finish line the youngster greeted her with a huge hug before proudly accepting her mothers medal.

Ms Donegan raised almost $13,000 for her chosen charity Miracle Babies and wore a singlet that displayed the names of 25 of her sponsors infants - all of them stillborn, premature or sick.

She said more than 200 messages of support, sent via text and social media by the charity, friends, family and sponsors, kept her from bowing out.

"Even though it was like 1am in Australia people were still watching."

She plans to recover from the race with hot baths, low impact swimming, massages and relaxed catch-ups with old friends.