A marathon runner from Evesham who finished the Olympic Marathon course in Paris in a time of 2:51:03, in 78th place, has revealed she ran the course with a broken leg.
Rose Harvey’s running journey peaked on Sunday when she took part in the Olympic Games as part of Team GB, but she didn’t get the result she hoped for, limping round the course and coming in with a time far behind her Personal Best.
She’s since revealed she has been diagnosed with a stress fracture.
Harvey, a former corporate lawyer, first became passionate about running during lockdown when she was made redundant.
Writing on Instagram, she describes how she set herself the initial goal of making her local running team, but ended up getting such a brilliant time in her first race, she leapfrogged that objective to represent her country.
“The first opportunity to race was the Cheshire marathon, where I ran 2:30:59, a 25 minute PB.
“I never got to run for Surrey, as that time won me an invitation to the England half marathon team. And it all snowballed from there!”
Years of training followed and she made it into Team GB.
Rose Harvey battled to complete the race
Credit: PA
‘This was far from the Olympics I dreamed of, but still an experience of a lifetime.’
Her training was going well for Sunday’s race, until she developed a bit of tightness in her hip. She and her training team thought she would be able to run through it with some race day adrenaline, but her dream race turned into a nightmare.
“A couple of miles in, I quickly realised that wasn’t going to happen. The next 24 miles were a painful battle.
“It turns out I had stress-fractured my femur.
“In any other race, I would have stopped and there were so many moments when I thought I couldn’t take another step. The downhills were hell.
“But despite most of my race goals having slipped away, there was still a tiny part of my Olympic dream that I could hang onto – and that was finishing the Olympic marathon.
‘I couldn’t give up.’
“I kept telling myself to smile, soak up the energy of the incredible crowds and just put one foot in front of the other.
“It was heartbreaking.
“But being part of the Olympics is something I’ll never forget and being able to share the race with so many of my amazing friends and family meant the world to me.”
The race was won by Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands, in a time of 2.22.55.
Sifan Hassan won the women’s Marathon
Harvey now has to prepare for her wedding to her long-term partner in just three weeks time.
She is currently on crutches, after being wheeled away from the Marathon finish in a wheelchair, but is resolute that she will have cast them to one side for her big day.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.
Leave a Reply