Virgin London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...
in 17 days using the
ReWalk
ReWalk is a commercial bionic walking assistance system that uses powered leg attachments to enable paraplegics to stand upright, walk and climb stairs.event rider, producing and competing horses in Eye Kettleby, near
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...
in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
British Eventing
British Eventing (BE) is the Great Britain governing body for the equestrianism, equestrian sport of eventing, which combines a single rider and horse pairing competing in dressage, showjumping and Cross-country equestrianism, cross country. The ...
. While competing at Osberton Horse Trials in
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
in May 2007 she had an accident, colliding with a tree, which resulted in broken ribs puncturing her lungs and causing
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
; multiple
fractures
Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...
on her neck; and a
spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...
thoracic vertebrae
In vertebrates, thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. In humans, there are twelve thoracic vertebra (anatomy), vertebrae and they are intermediate in size b ...
Lomas was left without the use of her legs and lack of general sensation in lower part of her body.
Despite the injuries that left her with paraplegia, her condition has improved rapidly due to medical rehabilitation treatments and being active in sports (gym exercising, horse riding, skiing and swimming). Lomas also credits the high level of support and understanding she receives from her husband Dan and becoming a mother as she gave birth to her daughter Maisie in February 2011.
This progress and support stimulated Lomas not to become depressed but instead to run various campaigns and fundraising events publicly during 2008–2012 in order to acquire equipment for her rehabilitation and raise funds for research into spinal cord repair for the British charity Spinal Research, for which Lomas is an Ambassador for their Saddle Up Campaign for horse riders.
After intensive and continuous rehabilitative exercising and therapy, Lomas reported she gained improvements in core strength. However, her lower body motoric abilities are still impaired and she has to use a
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
to stay mobile in everyday life.
Achievements
Lomas ran a fundraising campaign to raise £50,000 for the charity Spinal Research to find a repair for spinal cord injury. This campaign promoted as ''Claire's Walk'' focuses around her participation in the 32nd Virgin London Marathon of 22nd April2012. She finished the Marathon in 17 days using the ReWalk robotic suit that helps people with paraplegia walk standing in upright position, on 8 May.
In August 2011, Lomas announced launching a semi-nude photography calendar starring renowned event riders from Britain as a method of fundraising for purchasing the £43,000 ReWalk suit. The calendar was published on 1 September 2011 and £10,000 of the total sum needed was donated by the
Matt Hampson
Matthew "Hambo" Hampson (born is an English former rugby union prop who became paralysed from the neck down (C4/5 tetraplegic), after a scrummaging accident when practising with England under-21 squad in March 2005. His condition requires pe ...
Foundation. Claire Lomas began training on 23 January 2012.
Though the organisation requires participants to finish the marathon within 24 hours, they allowed Lomas to walk 2 miles a day for 17 days accompanied by her husband. She finished the marathon after 17 days, passing the finish line on 8 May 2012 at 12:50.
Donations for Spinal Research were gathered mostly online through the Just Giving UK website and reached £90,000 as she crossed the finish line, up to £143,000 five days later.
Awards and recognition
After completing the 2012 London Marathon Lomas received 14 medals from other marathon participants as symbolic recognition of her accomplishment. Her crossing the finish line at The Mall in central London was escorted by three mounted members of the
Household Cavalry
The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...
giving Lomas a guard of honor and she was awarded the Virgin Trophy by Holly Branson.
Lomas went on to be nominated for and to win Inspirational Fundraiser at the Inspiration Awards for Women in October 2012
as well as the Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration at
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
Sportswomen of the Year Awards in November 2012. She was made a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in February 2017.
Post-marathon
Lomas was given the honour of lighting the
Paralympic
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
Cauldron in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
on 24 August 2012 in front of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
and Lord Sebastian Coe. She lit the cauldron in the robotic suit. She also started the
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
Marathon in 2012 but did not attempt the entire distance.
New challenges
Lomas took on a 400-mile cycle challenge in the UK in April and May 2013 in which she cycled from Nottingham to London using a handbike.