Featured Runner
Charlotte Keen
Charlotte Keen, aged 44 from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, will be running the Vitality Oxford Half Marathon on Sunday 9th October 2016 after battling Degenerative Disc Disease since she was 24, which eventually left her unable to walk or lift her own child without pain.
Before Charlotte was diagnosed 20 years ago, she enjoyed a fit and active lifestyle and ran for Oxford City running club, then Degenerative Disc Disease took over her life. She was unable to participate in any sport and soon found herself in constant pain. The condition worsened seven years ago when Charlotte became pregnant with her son and was diagnosed with two slipped discs. Despite the extremely high risks of surgery, the decision was made to have the operation to try and improve her quality of life.
Charlotte says: “Before the surgery I couldn’t complete simple tasks that every mother should be able to enjoy with their child, such as picking him up when he fell over, playing with him or even walking with him in the woods. It was a truly awful time in my life physically and emotionally.
“The surgery has transformed me. In November 2014 I began walking again and built this up to my favourite lost passion, running! I am still in pain and take painkillers regularly, my back will never be fully recovered but when I run I feel ‘free’ from pain. To begin with I could only manage five minutes around the block, but last year I completed a 5K Race for Life and then a 10K at Blenheim Palace!
“The Vitality Oxford Half Marathon on Sunday 9th October 2016 will be a hugely important personal millstone for me as the longest race I have done after my life-changing surgery, and I will also be running to raise funds for the charity, Blue Skye Thinking. It has taken a lot of courage mentally for me to get out there and run as the thought that my back may revert to how it was is always in my mind - but it can be done!”
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