Esmée Gummer fought her way back to fitness after a routine op left her paralysed
Hull runners can join a parkrun with a difference this weekend(Image: Shared Content Unit)
A runner who once feared she may never walk again is calling upon the people of Hull to lace up their trainers for a Guinness World Record attempt this weekend. Esmée Gummer was just 18 when she was left paralysed from the waist down following complications during a routine operation.
Despite being told she might never walk again, Esmée battled back to fitness to become a personal trainer. Now 34, the athlete is taking on a momentous challenge – she is on track to break a world record for the most consecutive free 5k events hosted by one person. That means she is looking to take part in no less than 76 run clubs in 99 days – one in every UK city – and she is getting to every one of them on foot.
This Sunday Esmée powers into Hull, more than 2,150km into the epic run. The Humber part of her Guinness World Record attempt will see her join Hull’s free 5k on Sunday, August 9 at 12pm at Hull Parkrun.
And she is urging people to join her and to make a donation to the charity pot, which is set to be split between a raft of good causes. A total of 25% is going to Wings for Life, a charity that raises money for spinal cord injury research and is best known for its World Run event, in which participants run for people who can’t.
A further 25% is going to Sport In Mind, the UK’s leading mental health sports charity, 10% will go to parkrun Global, which organises nearly 3,000 weekly 5k and 2k events across the world. The other 40% of the pot is going to charities that are recommended to Esmee.
Esmée said: “I’m running between every city (adding up to 5,000km) just so I can see you and inspire you to join me for a 5k. It’s a wild idea and it’s all inspired by my personal journey and love of helping people move. When I was 18, I was paralysed during a routine operation.
“At the time, I was training to be a professional dancer, and being told I might never walk again was heartbreaking. It was the catalyst for me to realise just how important movement was for my body and mind.”
Esmée, from Essex, suffered a bad reaction to an anaesthetic and anti-sickness drugs given during a routine operation to repair her hernia 16 years ago. After eight hours of seizures she was left paralysed from the waist down with temporary brain damage, yet she vowed to bounce back, despite doctors warning her she may never walk again.
After physio sessions in hospital, she stunned staff when she walked out of the hospital just weeks later – and eventually became a personal trainer.
Esmée has also appeared on the TV Show SAS Who Dares Wins, and two years ago she took part in the ultimate international marathon – the Sierra Leone Marathon which raises money for the global charity Street Child, which aims to get children back into education.
She added: “All I want to do in life is help people feel part of something. I can’t stand the thought of anyone not able to access services, clubs or friendships, or feel like they aren’t deserving of taking part.”
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