An Alsager woman with cystic fibrosis said she has “no regrets” after completing the London Marathon, despite ending up in hospital for 15 days.
Justyna Zaskwara, (27), crossed the finish line opposite Buckingham Palace, after just four months of training for the 26-mile run.
She said: “I am a person that sticks to my word; if I say I’m going to do something, I do it, no matter how hard things get.”
Miss Zaskwara, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at six months old, said she took up running two years ago to help with her mental health and manage the symptoms of her condition.
A rare genetic disorder, cystic fibrosis causes the body to produce thick mucus that can build up to clog airways, damage the lungs and obstruct the pancreas, leading to severe breathing difficulties and digestive problems.
But Miss Zaskwara said she felt inspired to put on her running shoes after seeing that other people with the condition had taken part in the London Marathon.
She said: “I needed something that would motivate me to keep running and thought if I set myself that goal, I would have to keep going.
“Training was really challenging. I only started in January because in November, I was really unwell. Even walking around Alsager I was getting really short of breath.”
During a routine exercise assessment just 10 days before the race, Miss Zaskwara said her heart rate slowed, which caused her to fall unconscious.
“I wanted to make sure the same things didn’t happen in London,” she said.
“The medical team advised me to be mindful of my limits and to slow down or walk, if I had to.”
At the halfway point during the race, Miss Zaskwara said she had been running for two hours and 45 minutes and decided to slow down.
She said she “couldn’t quite believe it” and felt “amazing”, when she crossed the finish line after six hours and 36 minutes.
“It’s definitely taken a lot of courage,” she said. “The longest run I did before the marathon was 27km (16.7 miles), so I set the bar really high for myself.
“I didn’t believe other people who told me that the atmosphere would push me through, but it does, it’s true.
“You don’t want to give up, even when the doubts come creeping in.”
Her brother, Patryk Zaskwara, mum Ewa Zaskwara and her mum’s partner Roman Kazmierczak, were cheering her on as she crossed the finish line.
She said: “I woke up the next day in disbelief. It was only because I had the medal at home and read my name in one of the national newspapers that listed all the participants, that I realised I’d done it.”
But a week later, Miss Zaskwara said she felt chest pains and went to the emergency department at Royal Stoke Hospital, where she was admitted to the respiratory ward for 15 days.
She said: “My lungs took a real hit with the impact of all the training. My body had had enough.”
But despite the setback, Miss Zaskwara said she had already applied to run the London Marathon again next year from her hospital bed.
“I’m not ready to drop it yet,” she said. “There are others who want to do it with me next year, including my mum. Doing it together would be amazing.”
She said she hoped to take part in local races in the run-up to next year’s event, including the Alsager 5, and 10km races in Sandbach and Crewe.
She said: “I knew when I decided to do the marathon that I could become unwell, but I’ve no regrets – I’d do it again in the blink of an eye.
“This year, the goal was just to get to the finish line. If I can get my health under control, maybe I could end up with a better time next year. Either way, it’s a memory I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
