Picture: Becky Saunderson. Image No.038083
YOU’LL never run again – that was the devastating judgement delivered to former paramedic and keen runner Sarah Louise Cull after suffering a bad back injury. However, Sarah, who is now a successful personal trainer, was determined to prove her GP wrong and not only donned her running shoes again but went on to resurrect what has become a hugely popular north-east ultra marathon. With the Speyside Way Race ultra marathon, which starts at Cragganmore and finishes in Buckie, celebrating its 10th event since Sarah and her team brought it back from the dead in 2010, there was time to reflect on the series of events which saw her claw her way out of partial disability. Looking back as she prepares to hand over the race organiser reins to Kyle Greig at Aberdeen Metro, she recalled how a double prolapse left her unable to
walk with her leg aloft. “It was literally the day before I was due to have surgery on my back, I was actually in hospital when the surgeon came to talk to me,” she said. “He warned me that the surgery might not be successful; it wouldn’t really reduce my pain and it could damage nerves that would leave me without bladder or bowel control. “I couldn’t go through with it and checked out of hospital pretty much then and there. “I went to see my GP to work out what my options were from there and he told me straight that I wouldn’t be needing my running shoes again, I’d never run again. It left me angry and upset – how dare he write me off like that!”
Sarah was as good as her word and six months later she successfully completed the Loch Ness marathon – a competition which, two years ago, was to be her 100th marathon. She increased the distance of her runs to ultra level and can boast the Sahara desert as one of the routes she has traversed. Her first ultra was eventually to open the door to resurrecting the Speyside Way Race, originally organised by Don Ritchie, which had fallen into abeyance in 2006. Sarah added: “It was a huge step to take over from Don, they were big shoes to fill. It was part of a push to expand ultras in this part of the world and showcase it to a wider audience, which hopefully we’ve managed to do.” Sarah’s back injury meant she had to give up her job as a paramedic but for the last 15 years she has forged a new career as a personal trainer.