Burns survivor Turia Pitt has completed the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, five years after doctors told her she would never run again.
Turia successfully finished the world’s toughest Ironman race – which includes a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km run – in an incredible 14 hours, 37 minutes and 30 seconds.
She came 61st overall but the mere feat of completing the greulling course is an incredible accomplishment in itself.
It has been five years and 200 operations since Turia suffered burns of up to 65 per cent of her body while competing in an ultramarathon in the Kimberley region of WA.
But the mining engineer and author hasn’t let her experience slow her down and only continues to inspire.
Earlier this year, she took part in the Ironman Australia race at Port Macquarie.
At the time, she said: “What gets me out of bed is just getting back to that really compelling reason of why I wanted to do ironman – just to prove that I’m fitter now than I was in the ultramarathon.”
However, the Hawaiian Ironman proved to be even more of a challenge. Before the race, she said: “Because of my burns, I can’t regulate my own body temperature. I have to make adjustments or use standard tri gear in different ways … I will need things such as cooling sleeves and white suits to deal with the heat in Kona.”
“I’d rather take a crack at it and fail than not even try at all.”
Turia will now train for the next few months as she prepares to lead a trekking group to Mount Everest Base Camp in May, 2017.
The Base Camp trek will part of her role as an ambassador for charity Interplast, which provides free reconstructive surgery to people in the Asia-Pacific.
WATCH: Turia Pitt’s adorable relationship with Michael Hoskin
